Picture frame
by Elphaba'sGirl
Summary: "Fiyero knew all too well that he wasn't supposed to be here..." Fiyero finds a picture of Elphaba and her mother under her pillow, leading him to the conclusion that his feelings for her may be more than friendship.
1. Discovery

**This is just a little Shiz-Era stuff. It's after Galinda and Elphaba become friends, so "Post-Popular" and "Pre-I'm-Not-That-Girl." Bare with me, I'm taking this right out of my old fanfic notebook.**

**And thanks so much to those who have reviewed my other stuff! I seriously just put thsee on cuz I like to, but it's kind of nice to have people reading it. **

**And to answer Maddy-Fae; Most of this is actually out of a multi-chap I wrote a while ago, I'm just pulling the best scenes out. The story revolves around the idea that Elphaba and Fiyero met when they were twelve, and then it goes into Shiz-Era with the revelation that Frex used dark magic on Ephaba when she was really little. Would anyone ever want to read that? And I do know the Fiyeraba feeling you're speaking of. It's like a physical feeling, right? And then when something sad happens, you actually feel pain and it's like "wow. They are perfect together, but why why why Is it so difficult?" I never though I'd actually write something that made people feel that way.**

**Okay. I'm talking too much. Here's the story;**

* * *

**Fiyero knew all too well that he wasn't supposed to be here. Anyways, it was Galinda's fault for being late, and even Elphaba's to some extent, for leaving the door unlocked.**

Now he stood in the two girls' dorm room, absently watching the second hand on the clock go tick tick tick tick, and waiting for Galinda to meet him here.

He wasn't really a nosy person, but Fiyero found himself reaching under Elphaba's pillow, just to see if she really kept a little green bottle there. It was pure curiosity, nothing more.

There was indeed a small green bottle under the pillow, marked "Green Elixir", and with the initials "MT" carved into the side. But that wasn't what intrigued him.

Also under the pillow was a picture surrounded by an ebony frame. Fiyero held it carefully in his hands. In the image, a beautiful woman with strawberry blond hair and strikingly dark eyes held her child close, a radiant smile gracing her ruby lips. In reality, the child was every bit as gorgeous as her mother, despite (or maybe because of) her emerald skin.

Fiyero gently stroked the infant's face, tracing her head and eyes and perfect smile, careful not to dislodge the thin layer of protective glass. The baby in the picture looked about two or three months old.

"What are you doing here?" The voice made Fiyero jump.

"I- uh. I was just waiting for Galinda," he stammered.

Elphaba stormed toward him and snatched both the photograph and the Elixir out of his hands.

She glared at him, narrowing her dark eyes that looked shockingly like her mother's. "Get out."

"I-"

"Out, Fiyero!" She practically shoved him out the door, slamming in behind him.

"Elphaba, tell Galinda I'll see her tomorrow," Fiyero called.

Elphaba didn't respond.


	2. Reflection

**This is for StuckInSouthstairs, who wanted to know Elphaba's thoughts after kicking Fiyero out.**

**so yay! And in case you haven't read "Dorothy and Elphaba" can you at least read my author's note at the beginning, cuz I really need help right now. Whatever, I'll just copy it here; **

**Also, this is a great day for us all because my cousin is finally seeing wicked tonight and then he will stop telling me how wicked Elphaba is. It makes me mad. If anyone wants to leave a review and explain to him why she's not wicked, I'd really appreciate it. And also if you could explain that Wicked is far superior to Phantom of the Opera, that'd be great. HE DOESN'T BELIEVE ME! (*starts to cry*)**

**So yeah. Enjoy! (Nothing is mine. Except the actually picture and plot line.)**

* * *

"Get out," Elphaba said icily.

"I-"

"Out, Fiyero!" She half-screamed, half-hissed at him, just trying to keep the tears out of her voice.

She shut the door loudly behind him, and then the water fell from her eyes. How long had it been since she'd cried?

Fiyero... Moron... Why had she left the door unlocked? But, really, Fiyero shouldn't have come in uninvited... She just wanted to smack something.

"Elphaba, tell Galinda I'll see her tomorrow."

Something or someone.

She wanted to scream. To cry. To tell someone how angry she was. She hadn't missed her mother this much since she was four. She looked down at the picture in her hands.

She liked to think she looked like her mother, at least a little. Besides the green. She traced the smile on Melena's face, then her own. She wondered how the photograph would look if it was black-and-white. She squinted at it, trying to picture her mother's strawberry blond hair grey, her deep brown eyes black and lackluster. Her own emerald skin just slightly darker than the hands holding her.

Elphaba loved that photograph. It was- next to the Green Elixir- the only thing she had left of the only person who'd ever loved her.

It was her own little world.

A world without the jeering, laughing faces of the people in her life.

A world that Fiyero Tiggular was not welcome in.


	3. Stalker?

**Yay. Another update. I don't know where I'm going with this. Originally it was a oneshot, then a two shot, now I'm just writing as I feel inspiration. So I can't promise anything, but this should be my first multi chapter on FanFiction! Squee! **

**Thank you for helping me convince my cousin of Elphaba's non-wickedness. Even if he still calls her evil to annoy me. He says he will be making a guest appearance on here, so everyone be on the lookout!**

**Zelda rules; yay! Fiyeraba fic right here. Well we will see where it goes...**

**James Birdsong; okay. Yay reviews and I'm glad you like it. Could you explain something to me though? On Beautiful, you commented "maybe awesome, maybe great" what does that mean? **

**Maddy-Fae; Fiyero in still dancing through life. But this might end up being AU. so we will see what happens...**

**BlueD; you make me laugh! yay! **

**So here's the next chapter;**

* * *

Fiyero didn't leave right away when Elphaba didn't respond. He stood at the door of the room, not knowing what to do. He heard her inside, the creak of the old bed as she sat down, her sigh. But he didn't hear the one sound he expected; the sound of the vinyl covers of book gliding against each other as she pulled them off the shelves.

There was another sigh, one that sounded as though she was trying not to cry. But that was impossible. Elphaba Thropp didn't cry, did she?

Well, she was human after all. No matter what some might say.

He heard the first choked sob. He guessed she didn't know how loud it really was. Then there was another, and he heard the ancient springs in the bed creak as she curled up.

He could picture her chewing her lower lip and trying to keep it in. Her clutching the photograph to her chest as violent sobs wracked her body.

He touched the door lightly with the tips of his fingers, traced the simple embossed "Elphaba Thropp" on the wood next to the swirly pink "Galinda Upland".

He heard Elphaba say something, but it wasn't loud enough to make out the words.

"FiFi?" came a shrill voice behind him. "What in Oz... Lurline, did I forget another...?"

Galinda was holding enough shopping bags for five people, her eyes wide. "I am so sorry, FiFi! I was with Pfanee and ShenShen, and we-"

"It's alright," Fiyero said quietly, still trying to hear Elphaba through the door, but failing.

Galinda pouted and stomped her foot (gently, in her heels). "It's not alright. I don't want you to feel that I don't care about us. I'll make it up to you."

"You don't need to make anything up to me. It's not like I've never forgotten anything." He smiled his signature smile.

"Oh, FiFi!" Galinda squealed, launching herself into Fiyero's arms.

"Galinda?" Elphaba's shaky voice came through the door. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Elphie. Oh, Elphie! I found the most adorable dress that I want you to see!" Galinda cried, immediately trying to open the door. It was locked. Go figure. "Um, Elphie? I seem to have forgotten my key again, could you...?"

There was a creak as Elphaba climbed off the bed and walked over to the door. A minute later the knob turned and she appeared.

"Oz, Elphie!" Galinda yelped. "What happened?"

Elphaba's cheeks were damp with tears, and her forehead had a distinct red line from being pressed into the frame of the picture.

"Are you still here?" Elphaba asked Fiyero in an attempt at her usual sarcasm.

"Still?" Galinda asked. "FiFi, are you stalking us?" She was so serious about it Fiyero was hard-pressed not to laugh.

The blonde looked from her roommate to her boyfriend and back again. Fiyero glued his eyes to the floor. Elphaba retreated back into the dorm room, while Galinda gave Fiyero a lingering kiss goodnight.

"See you in the morning, FiFi." A shadow crossed her face. "As long as you're not a creepy stalker."

"Don't worry, Linny. I'm not stalking you. Goodnight." And the Winkie prince turned and walked down the hall.

Galinda frowned, but entered the room to find Elphaba sitting on her bed. Just sitting. Not reading or doing homework. Just sitting.

"Are you okay, Elphie?" She asked.

"You need to tell your boyfriend that this room is off limits when neither of us is present. Or at any time, for that matter." The green girl's bitter tone surprised Galinda, and the blonde sat down on her ruffled pink bedspread and faced her.

"What's wrong?" Galinda asked.

Elphaba turned away from her. "Nothing. Just keep Mr. Perfect away from here."

"Oh. Okay." Galinda twisted a blond curl around her finger. FiFi and Elphie had never been fond of each other, but couldn't they make a bit more of an effort? "Okay," she said again. "Goodnight, Elphie."

"Night, Glin."


	4. Forgiveness?

**So yay! New chapter. This ones a little longer, but since most of the chapters were going to be oneshots at one point or another, it's not as long as some chapters on other stories.**

**this is a little bit of a strange chapter, so just hang in there. Lots of random ideas that (I'm hoping) will come together soon!**

**not mine. Well, the story is. But not the characters, locations, personalities, or really anything but the a basic idea. Its Shocking, really.**

* * *

"Elphaba!" Fiyero called as he wove through the throngs of students after class.

The raven head bobbing along didn't even slow. Oz, she could at least talk to him. He'd even gone to class to make sure she was okay. Really, he deserved a medal for that. He picked up his pace and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Elphaba," he repeated.

"What?" she snapped, shrugging him off.

Fiyero pulled his hand away. "Whoa. Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you. I mean, you seemed pretty upset yesterday."

She glared at him, and he threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry. I just... Why are you mad at me again?" He cursed himself when he heard the words come out of his mouth.

Elphaba rolled her eyes and kept walking. Fiyero tried to keep pace beside her, but she refused to listen to him and he eventually gave up.

He sighed and dropped behind her, but he did not lose her to the crowd.

"Come on, Elphaba. Won't you just talk to me?"

"There's nothing to say."

"Just listen then." He desperately quickened his pace again and found himself in front of her a moment later. "I'm really, really sorry for upsetting you. I just... I was waiting for Galinda, the door was unlocked, and I-"

"You went through my personal things, Fiyero. Why would you ever do that?" She seemed to consider for a moment. "Unless Galinda was right and you were stalking us." She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Will you just let me go?"

"No. I have to make this right."

"That was rhetorical. I don't want to talk to you."

"But you're talking to me right now."

She pushed past him, heading for the library. He didn't follow.

* * *

"Elphie?" Galinda called softly from her bed that night.

"Hmm?"

"I can't sleep."

"Hmm."

"Will you talk to me?"

"What about?" Elphaba muttered.

"Fiyero."

Elphaba sat bolt upright in her bed. "What about Fiyero?"

"He's been distant lately. Like he's got a lot on his mind."

"Somehow I find that a bit too hard to believe. Lately as in since when?"

"Since the night I forgot our date."

The night he was an annoying stalker. Wait, that was every night. "Hmm. Well, maybe he needs some space."

"But I forgot our date!" Galinda wailed, louder than necessary.

"It's not that, Galinda. How many times has he forgotten something? My guess is way more than you have. I'm sure he's just got a personal problem." Yeah, a personal problem called 'I'm in a fight with my girlfriend's best friend.' Elphaba winced at calling herself Galinda's best friend, even in her thoughts. She didn't have friends. She didn't need them.

"Like what?" Galinda sniffled.

"I don't know, Galinda. Just try to get some sleep." The green girl rolled over in her bed and heard her roommate do the same. Soon the blonde's breathing fell into a rhythmic pattern, and she was asleep.

Sleep did not come as easily to Elphaba, however, and she crawled out of bed, pulling her black robe over her nightclothes. Disregarding the curfew, she pulled on her boots and stepped outside the door, closing it gently so as not to wake Galinda.

* * *

Fiyero couldn't sleep. His mind was racing. He was bent on gaining Elphaba's forgiveness, even though she'd made it clear that he wouldn't get it if she had a say. Well, he'd just make sure she didn't have a say, then. He climbed out of his bed and walked over to the window.

It was raining. More like pouring, actually. Blinding flashes of lightning lit the sky, followed by deafening thunder. The courtyard of Shiz University was whitewashed in water and bursts of light.

A small figure dressed in black caught Fiyero's eye. The person tilted her head up to look at the sky, and he saw in the light from the next jagged flash the emerald green of her skin.

Elphaba.

* * *

"Elphaba?" Fiyero called to her as he crossed the grassy lawn.

The girl sitting ahead of him didn't respond. He moved to sit so that he could see her face. It was drenched with rain, but she wasn't crying. Had he thought she would be?

"Elphaba?" he repeated, but her eyes remained focused on some distant point in the sky.

She let the wind blow her loose ebony hair back from her face. It curled and writhed like a thousand raven snakes in a large billowing mass behind her. Her strong jaw was set in a neutral expression, one that was impossible for Fiyero to read. Her nimble emerald fingers clutched a black frame, and Fiyero recognized that right away. She was holding it so tightly he was surprised it didn't break.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

He wasn't even sure if she'd heard him, the way her gaze was locked on an unreachable point far away.

"Elphaba?" He reached out and gently stroked her face, as he'd done with it in the photograph two days ago. He let his fingers run down her temple, brush her cheek, and trace her jawline, but he somehow managed to keep himself from touching her lips.

She didn't even blink.

"Elphaba, are you okay?" Dumb question. Of course she wasn't okay. She was sitting in a field in the middle of a rainstorm.

He grabbed her hands in his own, letting the picture drop to the ground. "Elphaba, listen to me. I need you to tell me what you're doing here, and if you're hurt." He grimaced at his own tone. He sounded so much like a doctor. Did she need a doctor?

"Elphaba," he spoke her name quietly, but firmly. "Elphaba." Mingling with the steady drumming of the rain. "Elphaba." A rock to hold her to earth. "Elphaba." A gentle invitation. "Elphaba."

Her intent stare was suddenly broken, and her eyes became unfocused as she blinked once. Then twice.

"It's my fault," she said softly.

He cupped her face gently in his hands. "What is?"

"It's my fault she's dead."

"Who?"

"My mother."

"How can it possibly be your fault? You were three." He pushed her drenched hair out of her face.

"It's my fault," she said again, like she was in some kind of trance, and her eyes glazed over.

"Okay," Fiyero said. "Okay. You're going to be fine. I can help you." He spoke for himself rather than Elphaba. "Okay," he said again.

Elphaba was once again staring at the sky, her pupils growing larger and smaller at erratic intervals, sometimes out of sync with each other.

Fiyero gently pulled on her arms, and her eyes were torn away from the sky and to him. But she was looking through him, not at him.

"Can you stand?" He asked her.

She stared back into his eyes, through them, and at something beyond him.

He pulled her into his arms, then lifted her and began to walk back toward Crage Hall. She was surprisingly light, despite her clothes, heavy with rainwater, and he found her easy to carry.

Truly, he wasn't sure if she was conscious or not, once he started walking, because her eyes were open, but they were empty, like she wasn't in there.

"Elphaba," he said as they walked. "Elphaba." To the tune of the rain. "Elphaba." Music by itself.


	5. Off to see the Doctor

**Okay here's the next chapter. This is not my favorite; it's kind of a filler. But Fiyero is starting to realize that he's in love with Elphaba.**

**Thanks to anyone who reviewed!**

**Elphaba-WWW: if you draw it, can I see?**

**Not mine, just no.**

* * *

"Galinda!" Fiyero called through the door, while ramming into it unceremoniously with his shoulder. "Galinda, open this door!"

Said door slowly creaked open, revealing a disheveled blonde. Fiyero barged into the room, setting Elphaba on the bed and completely ignoring Galinda after that first moment.

Elphaba remained eerily quiet and still, her eyes open and empty.

"Oz, Fiyero," Galinda gasped. "What happened to her?"

Fiyero pushed Elphaba's hair off of her face, then moved his fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. Her heartbeat throbbed in her veins, pushing on his fingers in a warm hello.

"Fiyero, are you going to answer me?" Galinda asked, annoyed with Fiyero and worried about Elphaba.

"I have no idea," Fiyero murmured, now looking into her empty eyes.

"If you're going to answer me or what happened to her?"

Fiyero sighed. Elphaba's mouth suddenly opened, and she began repeating what she'd said earlier. "It's my fault. It's my fault, it's my fault she's dead." Galinda stared at her roommate, her eyes almost as wide as Elphaba's.

"Who?" Galinda asked.

"Her mother," Fiyero whispered.

Galinda remembered that secret, from the night of Fiyero's party. "Where did you... Find her?" she asked quietly.

"Outside. Just sitting in the rain." He turned now to look at Galinda. "Galinda, I'm afraid there's something seriously wrong with her."

The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. Why should her FiFi care so much about her roommate? Unless they were really trying to make an effort. "Then why didn't you take her straight to the infirmary?" She looked Elphaba over, noticing briefly that her hands were curled as though she was holding something.

"I don't know, Linny." Fiyero whispered.

"What was she doing out there?"

"Just... Sitting. And staring at the sky. And..." The picture frame. "Oz's blood and bones," he cursed, immediately jumping up from his kneeling position on the ground. "Galinda, I'll be right back. Just, try to help her."

"I'm not a doctor!" Galinda wailed.

"Neither am I!"

The glass was cracked. Water had gotten in. Fiyero ran a gentle finger along the break, but he knew the damage was done.

Melena's gentle features were marred by the water, her easy smile smudged and nearly washed away. Her mass of curls was running farther down her back than he remembered.

The baby Elphaba could hardly been seen now. She was a green blur held by rosy hands. He doubted even she would know what the picture was of now.

"You went back for a picture?" Galinda screeched.

He winced. "Yes, but it was special. Of Elphaba and her mother. I-"

"Meanwhile, I'm here and she could be dying!"

Dying? Elphaba, dying? Was Galinda exaggerating?

"I repeat; WHY DID YOU NOT BRING HER TO A DOCTOR!"

Fiyero stared wide-eyed at his girlfriend. "I...uh... I had a lot on my mind?"

"Says the brainless 'Mr. Dancing Through Life'." Galinda proceeded to ignore Fiyero just as effectively as he'd ignored her while she scurried around the room like a chipmunk.

A knock sounded on the door.

"What's the racket about?" an annoyed voice said.

Galinda darted toward the door, flinging it open when she got there and glaring murderously into the hall. "None of your business," she snapped.

The girl outside the door looked only slightly less mussed by sleep than Galinda. "No one can sleep, guys. Can you keep it down?" She saw Fiyero standing inside the room, and her eyes widened. "What's he doing here?"

Galinda glanced behind her. "He's helping me with something."

"Linny?" Fiyero called to her. "I'm going to bring her down to the infirmary, so can you please get out of the doorway?"

Galinda stepped aside as her boyfriend passed her, carrying a possibly-unconscious Elphaba in his arms.

The girl standing outside looked at Galinda, who smiled sweetly at her, then spun on her heel and walked down the hall, slightly upset that she had nothing on Galinda now.

Galinda followed Fiyero down to the infirmary, and noticed for the first time that Elphaba's emerald skin was pale mint.

"Elphie..." the blonde whispered.

The nurse could find nothing really wrong with the green girl, even though Fiyero insisted there was. Both he and Galinda tried to help, but they had little to no medical experience, and Galinda eventually had to go sit down because it was freaking her out.

"Will she be alright?" Fiyero asked once his girlfriend was gone.

The nurse looked over at him. "She should be fine. Of course, since I don't know what was wrong initially, we can't know how soon it will be."

Fiyero squeezed Elphaba's hand, and she launched into a rambling of "It's my fault" over and over again. He looked down at her face, and realized in that moment that he considered her beautiful, in spite of (or maybe because of) her green skin.

She fell silent then, but he felt her tensed muscles stay tense, and her eyes remained eerily unblinking.

He put two fingers on her forehead, which glistened with perspiration and was deathly cold. He rubbed warmth into her fingers with his other hand, and moved the hand on her head to her neck, where he could feel a pulse, and that gave him comfort.

Suddenly, her muscles relaxed. All at once, like she'd passed out. But she blinked her eyes tiredly, then fell back into Fiyero's arms.

"Elphaba?" he said uncertainly. It still sounded like music.

One corner of her mouth quirked up. "Hi." Then she started to sit up, but Fiyero firmly pushed her back down. She glared at him. "It was just a spell, Fiyero. I'm not an invalid."

"Spell?"

She blushed, and he was renewed in his claim that she was beautiful. "I just... I wanted to see my mother again so badly, because all I have is that photograph," Fiyero winced at that, "so I cast a simple spell to be able to access my memories of her."

"Oh." Fiyero stared at her. Beautiful. 'Stop it,' he chided himself, 'You're with Galinda.' But a small part of him argued that he didn't have to be.

Elphaba blinked again, her eyes staying closed for longer this time.

He didn't have to be.


	6. Breaking Up

**Two chapters in one day! Yay. So here's the next bit. It's kind of short, but it's Fiyeraba. **

**Not mine.**

* * *

"Elphie, you had me and Fiyero really worried," Galinda stated later that night as the two girls were climbing into bed.

"Fiyero and me, Galinda. You didn't have to worry. I can take care of myself." Then, more to herself, "Oz knows I have been for the last seventeen years."

"Whatever. Why would you do something like that?" The blonde pulled the covers up to her chin, then rolled onto her side to face Elphaba.

The green girl shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Come on, you can tell me. Now we're bestest friends, remember?"

Elphaba smiled faintly. "It's just 'best', Glin." She sighed. "I suppose that bottle and the picture were the last reminders of my mother. My father put all the rest in a little locked room back home, or he threw it away. And they were like my own little shrine to her, one that only I visited. It was sacred, pure. Something no one had ever touched. And then Fiyero saw them, and it wasn't my own any more. It was... taken from me, in a sense. And I suddenly felt detached from her in a way I hadn't been before, so I had to do something. It was like living without air. So I just said the spell. It was just a simple one, that brought all of my childhood memories back." Now her face clouded. "Except that then I was watching her die again, and I was trapped there not knowing what to do. Knowing she was dying but not being able to stop it."

Galinda stared at her roommate. "Wow."

Elphaba jumped, and began to blush a deep green. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ramble. I forgot you were listening."

The blonde reached across the distance between the two beds and took Elphaba's hand. "I'm glad you did, Elphie."

Elphaba smiled softly in the darkness, and they held hands even as Galinda fell asleep. When her breathing became even, Elphaba squeezed her hand.

"I'm glad I did too, Glin. I really am."

The next day was a Saturday. It was one of those especially dreary Saturdays, when the air is heavy and there are only scattered clouds on a slightly blue sky.

Of course, to Elphaba, sitting in the dorm reading, there was nothing dreary at all. She was engrossed in a novel regarding the place the Wizard was from; Uh-mare-i-cah, it was called, spelled "America".

Galinda suddenly burst into the room and plopped down on her bed, burying her face in her pillow and wailing into it.

"Galinda? What happened?" Elphaba asked cautiously, not sure if this would launch Galinda into an annoying explanation.

"Fiyero broke up with me!" Galinda sobbed.

Elphaba marked her book and crossed the room, sitting next to her roommate on the bed and rubbing her back soothingly. In some ways, Galinda was more a child than a teen.

"It's all right, my sweet," Elphaba whispered to her friend.

"It is NOT alright! He's perfect, and I'm perfect, and perfect goes hand-in-hand with perfect, and he wasn't supposed to break up with me, and I wish he'd leave here forever and never come back, and maybe he should go back to the Vinkus to be king and... And..."

"Glin, it's not like you're married to him. Maybe he felt that something wasn't right. Maybe it wasn't meant to be."

"We ARE meant to be," the blonde whimpered.

"Look, you may really think it's a mistake to break up. But Fiyero obviously thinks it's the right choice. You should find out why he wanted to break up with you, and then maybe you can fix it in your next relationship."

"I don't want a new boyfriend, I want him!"

Elphaba bit back a sarcastic retort, but she couldn't say anything to her friend for fear it'd come out wrong, so she just stayed there for a minute, running her green fingers through Galinda's blond hair and massaging her scalp.

There was a knock on the door, and Elphaba stood to answer it, leaving Galinda practically buried in pink frills and pillows.

"What are you doing here?" Elphaba asked Fiyero sharply.

"I... I wanted to see if Galinda was okay. She seemed pretty upset when I-"

"What did you do to her, Fiyero? She ran in crying ten minutes ago and currently has her face buried in her pillow."

"Um... I broke up with her."

"I gathered that, brainless," she snapped. "Why would you do that? I thought you loved her, and I'm sure you can see that she loves you."

"Well, I think I like... someone else." Fiyero looked at her sheepishly.

Elphaba glared back. "Who is it? If its ShenShen or Pfanee I'm not even going to talk to you. Or Milla. Really, Galinda's your best choice. I want you to go back in there and un-break-up with her."

"Un-break-up?" Fiyero sniggered. "I thought you were the one who corrected people on their grammar."

She shot him a death glare and he but his lip. "The point is, I want you to go make up with Galinda and tell me who you dumped her for so I can go pummel them. And then I'll pummel you."

"You."

"Yes, me. I'm going to pummel you. What did you not get about that?"

He shook his head. "No, Elphie-"

"Do not call me that."

"Okay. Elphaba, I like you."

She stared at him for a moment. Then, "You're insane. Do you need a doctor? A psychologist?"

Fiyero took both her hands in his own. "No. I'm not insane. I'm thinking clearer than I have in my whole life."

"Fiyero... I... I... Look at me!" She shouted angrily. "Is this a joke?"

"I think you're pretty," he said quietly.

"Stop lying to me."

"I'm not lying."

She reached up and suddenly her palm was tingly from where she'd slapped him, while his face was bright red. She was slightly shocked, but brushed it off.

"If you're not going to make up with Galinda, get out of here," she growled.

"Wait, Elphaba. I'm not lying. Believe me." She stared coldly back at him, and began to close the door. He stepped in front of the door, and pulled out the picture frame. "This is yours." He held it out as a peace offering.

She took it from him, looking at the ruined photograph, and almost cried. "Fiyero..."

"I'm sorry, Elphaba. I thought you were dying at the time, remember, so it really wasn't my first priority." He ran his hand through his hair and refused to meet her gaze.

"This was the only image of my mother I had, Fiyero. My father got rid of the rest," she whispered. She cursed herself for having emotions as her anger started to melt.

"Oz, Elphaba. I didn't know-"

"You couldn't have. It's my own fault. I brought it out in the rain myself. I deserve this. Why should I have anything to remember her anyway? I killed her. I should have thought before-"

"Before being born? I'm pretty sure that's not possible. You couldn't have prevented her death. It was your father's fault. Not yours. Elphaba, I'm sorry about the picture, and I'll make it up to you. I promise."

Elphaba looked at him, and he felt a sudden urge to kiss her. He didn't resist. He leaned down, and felt her lips soft against his. But it only lasted a moment. Then she pulled away, blushing furiously.

"You shouldn't have done that," she hissed.

He smiled his trademark Fiyero Tiggular smile. "Because now you're going to beat me up?"

"Because you just broke up with Galinda." 'Because I don't want to know how good it feels.'

"Will you have lunch with me tomorrow, Miss Thropp?"

"No."

"Dinner, then?"

"No."

"How about-"

"No, Fiyero. I'm going to be with Galinda tomorrow. It's Sunday."

"Monday, then?"

"Don't make me hurt you."

He frowned. "Fine. But sooner or later, you'll realize you're making a mistake. And I'll be there when you do."

There were consequences to actions. But had anyone ever thought about the consequences of not doing something? Would it hurt more in the long-run to say yes or no to Fiyero?

Right now it hurt more to say no.


	7. Getting Together

**Yet another chapter. I've got a lot of time on my hands tonight. This ones kind of short, but I like it.**

**yay Fiyeraba, and I don't own it.**

* * *

"So," Fiyero's voice broke through Elphaba's thoughts. It was Monday, and the green girl was leaning against a wall, sneaking in a couple minutes of reading between classes, and now noticed the Winkie boy's arm looped gracefully around her shoulders. She jumped.

"Oz, Fiyero! You need to stop doing that." She had leapt away from him, and now stood facing him with her hand on her hip.

The prince shrugged. "Then you need to stop looking so cute."

"We've been over this," she growled. "The words 'cute', 'pretty', 'beautiful', or anything that could be considered a synonym of one of those do not refer to me."

Fiyero stared at her blankly. "I'm pretty sure that's the first time you've said that. And it's a lie."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. Very Elphaba-like. "What did you want, Tiggular?"

His face broke into a grin. "How about dinner tonight?"

She groaned. "I've told you a thousand times; no. And I will keep telling you no forever and ever."

"Well, I'm just going to keep asking you, so you might as well make it easy on yourself and agree."

She shouldered her bag, then looked at him, considering. She stared for so long that he grew uneasy. Then she said, "Fine. But you have one shot at this. If you blow it, you will stop bothering me and move on."

Fiyero winced. "But how can you judge after one date-?"

"It's not a date, Fiyero. It's two friends having dinner. That's all."

"No. It's a date. I'll accept your proposition, but only if we can agree that it is a date."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously. "So you can tell your friends you tricked the green girl into letting you date her?"

"No." He grinned. "So I can tell myself that Elphaba Thropp's my girlfriend."

"I'm not your girlfriend, Tiggular. And if you say that again I will tell Galinda that you were the one who started the rumor that she wore black to a party."

Fiyero paled, because even if he didn't like Galinda "like that" he still liked her as a friend. And they were currently on "friendship terms" after having made up pretty much the day before, so he didn't want to blow it for himself. She could make him miserable. And Elphaba could vouch for that.

"Fine. But it's a date," Fiyero said firmly.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Tiggular."


	8. First Date

**Elphaba and Fiyero's first date! Yay! I hope you guys like it. I think it is a pretty good chapter, and I'm pretty proud of it.**

**not mine.**

**enjoy!**

* * *

"Hold still Elphie," Galinda ordered as she jabbed bobby pins into Elphaba's hair.

"You realize this is a lost cause, right?" The green girl said.

"Nonsense. Besides, it's your first date, and you have to look perfect!" Galinda bounced up and down giddily.

Elphaba groaned. "It's not a date, Glin."

"Fiyero said it was."

Elphaba frowned. "Are you sure you're okay with this? Me... going out with him? Because it's not too late to say no." She said hopefully.

"Don't be silly, Elphie. If I can't have him, I'm glad you can." She waved a hand dismissively.

"That's what I was afraid of."

Galinda finished with Elphaba's hair, and the green girl stood up, slightly annoyed both at her blond roommate and the way the fabric of the dress she was wearing felt.

The dress was black, like her hair, but only because Elphaba had absolutely refused any other colors except navy and dark purple, and then Galinda had deemed it "elegant". The dress was cut shorter than most of Elphaba's, stopping almost at her knees, and with long sleeves that flared at the wrist. Galinda had paired it with a wide black belt.

Now the blonde was coming toward her, armed with a pink flower, but Elphaba held up a hand.

"No pink, Glin," she stated.

The petite girl pouted. "But Elphie, pink really does go good with green."

"Galinda, I feel like a fool already. I'm not wearing that."

"Yes, you are." Galinda leaned forward, but Elphaba backed up. "Elphie, I know what guys like!"

"What about what I like? Don't I get a say?"

"No." She started to advance again, but Elphaba moved away from her. "Elphie, hold still!"

There was a knock on the door, and Elphaba flew to answer it. Fiyero was standing there, looking shocked, when his date flew out the door and practically ran him over.

"Let's go," she said, and started to walk down the hall.

"Have a good time!" Galinda's soprano sang out from the girls' dorm room.

Fiyero was dazed. Was this the same Elphaba who'd refused to go out with him for weeks? Who he'd had to bribe eight times to get her to talk to him?

"Well," he said smugly, "aren't I popular today."

"Don't get cute," Elphaba snapped. "I had to get out of there."

"Why?" he laughed. "Was Glainda torturing you?"

She nodded, and he broke out in peals of laughter. But she shot him a look, and he stopped.

"It's really not that funny, Fiyero. Galinda with a pink hairpin is my worst nightmare."

"She tried to make you wear pink?"

Elphaba shrugged. "She has it in her head that, and I quote, 'pink goes good with green'." She mockingly said the last part in a high, squeaky voice.

"Seriously?" And Elphaba nodded. "Finally! Someone who understands my pain."

"Somehow, I don't see you wearing pink. But then, the tight white pants were a surprise too." Elphaba's eyes gleamed.

Fiyero grinned at her. "It was a pink tux."

Elphaba stared wide-eyed at him.

"I'm not kidding. Her cousin was having a birthday party, and the couples had to dress in matching colors. And, you know, Linny doesn't wear anything but pink to a party."

Elphaba laughed. Fiyero decided it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. "Was there a photographer?"

"Yeah. The cousin made a memory book."

Elphaba threw her head back, and her black hair- curled by Galinda- fell behind her like a waterfall.

Fiyero forced himself to frown at her. "Do not mock my pain, Elphie."

She stopped laughing immediately and gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Fine, then. But don't call me that."

"Right."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, before they exited Crage Hall and began walking across the sprawling campus.

When they passed the History building, they ran across Nessarose, who was heading back to her dorm after her private tutoring session. As Thropp Second Descending, she needed to know as much about Munchkinland's history as possible.

"Hey, Nessa," Fiyero called when they got within hearing range.

"Hi." Nessa wheeled closer to them, a smile on her face.

"Wonderful news, Nessa. Your sister finally agreed to go out with me." Then, looking to Elphaba with a wink, he added, "On a date."

Elphaba shook her head. "It's not a date, Nessie. Just two friends spending some time together."

Fiyero looped one arm around her shoulders. "It's a date."

"It's not a date." Elphaba shrugged his arm off, then smiled at her sister. "See you later, Nessie."

The wheelchair-bound girl smiled back, and the two parties went their separate ways.

"What was that about?" Elphaba asked.

"It's a date. I just wanted to get that point across." Fiyero smiled his handsome smile.

"It can't be a date Fiyero. And you cannot tell anyone that it was." She looked up at him, eyes flashing. "Anyone."

"Why? And it's not like you can stop me."

She whirled around to face him, and he was shocked to see that her hands were glowing slightly from the magic building up inside her. "You can't tell anyone!"

"Aright," he said, backing off. An angry Elphaba was nothing to be messed with.

"You have to promise me," she said.

"I promise."

She sighed, and the light in her hands faded. "Good."

Fiyero resolved not to bring up this exchange, but he still considered this a date.

The two walked to the pizza place right off-campus, and that conversation was abandoned.

"You look really pretty tonight," Fiyero said quietly, when their food came.

Elphaba glared at him. "What did I say about that word?"

"Pretty?" And she nodded. "You told me some lies about it not referring to you."

"Fiyero, I'm not kidding. You need to stop that."

"But it's true."

"I'm green, Fiyero."

"What if green is my favorite color?"

"I'm sure it's not on a person."

"Maybe it is."

"But-"

"Elphaba. Let's not argue about this. I don't like arguing with you."

She sighed, and he smiled, and they leaned back in their chairs. The pizza was gone, and they stood to go, stopping at the register to pay, and then heading back toward campus.

It was a clear night. The stars shone brightly in the sky, and Fiyero sat down on the grass, and Elphaba followed. They lay down on the ground, and looked up.

"I love the stars. My mother used to teach me the constellations, and we'd go out at night to look at the sky," Elphaba whispered.

"My mom always said that the stars were our deceased loved ones, watching out for us." He turned to look at her. "They'll always be there for us."

Elphaba was silent for a moment, considering. Then she said, in a horse whisper, "Which do you think is my mom's star?"

"There," Fiyero said, pointing to a bright star near Ursa Major.

A small, fleeting smile graced Elphaba's lips. "Beautiful."

"Beautiful," Fiyero agreed, looking not at the star but at its watcher. A bright light caught his eye, and he quickly grabbed Elphaba's hand. "A shooting star. Make a wish."

She looked at the star, then at him. And she smiled. "I wish... we could have another night like this."

He grinned. "Another... date?"

She kept smiling. "Yeah."

He sat up, and so did she, and he pulled her into a kiss, whispering "I love you" against her lips.

She laughed. "You can't possibly know that after only one..."

"Date?" he said, and she cringed.

"I guess."

They both smiled then, and pulled apart.

One of them was considering where they would go the next time.

The other was simply wondering if there would be a next time.


	9. Consequences

**Here's one of my annoyingly short chapters, in which Elphaba and Galinda speak to each other about... Stuff. Cuz we know her happy Fiyeraba-ness can't last too long, right?**

**thanks to everyone who reviewed this.**

**not mine. Just no.**

**enjoy!**

* * *

Galinda flung the door open, heart pounding with the news she brought to her roommate.

"Elphie!" she shouted, blond curls bouncing wildly.

The green girl looked at her. "What is it?"

"Fiyero's announced to all his friends that he loves you!" Galinda squealed in excitement.

"I know."

The blonde frowned. "Well, you don't seem either excited or surprised. He hoped you would be."

Elphaba sighed. "I already knew, Glin. He didn't listen to me."

"What?"

"I told him not to tell anyone. He should have trusted me."

Galinda's gaze fell on Elphaba's work. Her single suitcase, the one she'd arrived with, lay open on the bed, with her black frocks neatly folded in it, along with several other items she'd brought to Shiz.

"Elphie, what-" Galinda started.

"And I told you not to tell anyone, either. I knew it would end like this."

"Like what? Elphie, what's going on?"

The green girl sighed, and turned to face her friend. "I'm leaving Shiz," she said bluntly.

Galinda flinched as though Elphaba had slapped her. "But... I thought... Why?"

Elphaba buckled the case, then picked it up and started toward the door. The room looked too bare without her things in it, and Galinda tried her hardest not to cry.

"Why are you leaving, Elphie?" the petite blonde managed.

"My father," the green girl whispered.

"Why-?"

"There was a reason I didn't want anyone to know, Galinda. Nessa talks to him every night. He just..." She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"He's pulling you out of Shiz?" Galinda restated, trying to grasp that logic.

"Galinda, please. I can't talk about it," Elphaba said pleadingly.

She pulled open the door, then looked back at the dorm room for what was probably the last time.

"Goodbye, Glin," she said, and the blonde pulled her into a fierce hug.

"Goodbye, Elphie."

"Glin, tell Fiyero goodbye for me, too, will you?" Elphaba asked numbly. "I think if I go to him I'll cry."

"Of course."

They pulled apart, looking into each others eyes. Chocolate into sapphire. Sapphire into chocolate. And back again.

"Elphie, you really do have beautiful eyes. Fiyero told me they were even prettier at night, with the stars reflected in them."

"Please, Glin. Don't make this harder for me."

Tears welled in the blond girl's eyes. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"You have other friends, Glin. You'll be fine." Elphaba turned away from her, so that she couldn't see that she cried as well.


	10. She's Gone

**Wow. I'm updating quickly. It's like an updating rampage! New record, I think. But when you have to watch your brother do karate for two hours, I think you have right to write. Well, now I have a black-belt for a brother, so this could be good or bad. I guess time will tell.**

**Thanks to you, my trusty reviewers.**

**Elphaba-WWW; wow, that's a lot of love**

**Maddy-Fae; sorry you have exams. This is why there's summer! And hopefully this will help you feel less bad for Galinda. It's Fiyero, who doesn't know yet, who we should be sorry for. New Frex Hunters are always apprieciated.**

**Elphiesglinda; um. Your feelings for Nessarose are scary. Not to defend the annoying brat, but how could she know that Frex would pull Elphaba out of school? Anyway, Nessa needs to learn self-control. **

**Wicked isn't mine, but the ability to write fanfiction for it is.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Fiyero was late for class. Again. Not that he really cared about being late, but he cared about getting his seat next to Elphaba, and so he quickened his pace as he neared the History building.

"Fiyero!" He heard Galinda yell behind him, and he turned to see her, blond curls flying, lips bright pink with gloss, running at top speed toward him.

"Fiyero, stop!" He stopped, waiting for her.

"Since when do you go to class?" He asked, eyeing the bag slung over her shoulder.

"Not the point," she snapped. "You have to come back to Crage Hall with me before they leave."

"Who, one of your celebrity obsessions?"

"No. That was you. Before, you know." She exploded suddenly. "Look, why are we doing this? Just come with me!"

"If I'm late for class, I won't get to sit near Elphaba."

For some reason, this brought tears to Galinda's eyes, but she quickly brushed them away. Huh. He'd thought she was over him.

"You won't anyway, now come on." She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him back to the dorm building.

"Ow! Linny, that hurts!"

"I really don't care at this point."

Galinda sighed when she saw Elphaba heading down the majestic steps outside the hall. She shoved Fiyero forward.

"Elphaba's late?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Go talk to her."

Fiyero walked toward his unofficial girlfriend, only noticing the suitcase in her hand once he got there.

"Fiyero?" she said, surprised, and she turned her face away quickly so he couldn't see.

"Elphaba, what's going on?" He cupped her face in his hands.

"Go away. You'll just make this worse." She started to push past him, but he stopped her.

"How will I make it worse?"

"Fiyero, you should go. Please. This is what started this mess in the first place." Elphaba looked into his eyes.

"Elphaba, tell me. You can trust me." He wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace.

"Please let go."

Galinda tapped him on the shoulder. "You should let go. It really will make it worse."

He ignored her, and pulled Elphaba closer to him.

"Really, Fiyero. You have to go." She pulled back from him.

"Elphaba!" A sharp voiced barked at her.

She looked into Fiyero's soft cerulean blue eyes. "Goodbye, Fiyero."

Then she turned away, climbing into the carriage waiting for her in the drive. A man dressed in rich red robes could be seen in the compartment. Frexspar Thropp, Governor of Munchkinland.

Galinda stood beside him, tears welling in her eyes. Fiyero didn't cry, but he wanted to. He stayed where he was, unable to speak, and watched the vehicle drive away.

It wasn't until it was out of sight that Fiyero could speak again. "Galinda, where is she going?"

"Home," Galinda stated.

"Why?"

"Her father pulled her out of Shiz when he heard you guys were dating." She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice, but failed.

"Lurline. It was one date. That guy has issues."

Galinda didn't respond to that. She just stared at the place where Elphaba and her father had disappeared.

The days following Elphaba's departure dragged by. Fiyero rarely went to class, even though he'd been keeping a pretty good record since he'd started trying to get on Elphaba's good side. Galinda went shopping nearly every day, in an attempt to shop away her sadness.

Unfortunately, dresses and shoes can't fix everything, and neither can an unhealthy school schedule.

Fiyero spent a lot of time in Galinda's dorm room, even when she wasn't there. He sat in the spot where Elphaba's bed had been, and imagined that she was there.

And he hadn't even said goodbye.

She'd said goodbye, but he hadn't responded.

Today, Fiyero was sitting in Elphaba's old closet. Galinda hadn't even filled it with pink yet, and it still smelled like her hair. Like honeysuckle and violet, with a twinge of something intangible. Something uniquely, distinctly, her.

It was the last Wednsday before Lurlinemas break. He'd written to his parents, asking if he could visit Munchkinland, but they'd vetoed his request, saying that they wanted their son home, where they could "catch up".

He took a deep breath, letting the sheer Elphaba-ness of the closet seep into him.

"Fiyero?" He heard Galinda's voice through the door of the closet. "Are you in here again?"

He sighed, pushing the door open.

Galinda's eyes widened. "Were you hiding in a closet?"

"Not hiding," he mumbled.

"Then what were you doing?"

"I was allowing the spirit of Elphaba to seep into my soul."

"Oz, Fiyero. She's not dead." She sat down, facing him. "You need to stop this, FiFi. It's not healthy."

He glared back at her. "He had absolutely no right to do that. It's not like she was neglecting her studies or anything by having dinner with me."

"No one understands the mind of the Frex, least of all me."

"He's evil. That's all there is to understand."

"Okay. You know what? I am just as upset about this as you are. But do you see me locking myself in a closet and plotting revenge on the Governor? No."

"I never said anything about revenge."

Galinda blushed. "Oh. Well, still."

"I never said I wouldn't want revenge."

"Fiyero! You're speaking about the Governor of Munchkinland. Mind your tongue."

"They never had a good relationship, you know. I can't imagine what it's like for her with only the two of them in the house."

"I'm sure they have staff," Galinda offered.

Fiyero snorted. "Yeah. Because having servants totally makes up for having a father who wishes you'd never been born."

"I'm sure she's fine, Fiyero. It's not like he's got a police record or anything."

"Actually, I looked it up. He shoplifted when he was eleven."

Galinda stared at him. "You're taking this to a creepy level. He was eleven, Fiyero. That must have been, like, a hundred years ago! I'm sure he's had time to rethink his actions."

Fiyero mumbled something unintelligible.

Galinda stood now, hands on her hips. "Now, come out of the closet. You have class in fifteen minutes. You know she'd want you to go."

"I guess," he grumbled. He stood then, and walked toward the door of the dorm room. Still, he couldn't help remembering Elphaba running out, curled black hair flying, and claiming that Galinda was torturing her by trying to force her to wear pink.

When Galinda didn't follow, he stopped. "Aren't you going?"

The blonde shook her head. "No. Momsie and Popsicle have decided on a tour of Oz for break, so I get out of school early. As in... today."

"A tour? Like, all of Oz?"

"Yeah."

"And... Munchkinland?"

Galinda smiled a watery smile. "I might not see her. But if I do I'll say hello for you."

Fiyero grumbled. "I tried to get my parents to let me go to her over break, but they refused."

"It's probably just as well, anyway," Galinda said. "Since your relationship is what brought this whole mess on in the first place."

He sighed. "I suppose. But I swear, I'll find some way to reach her."

"You could write her." Galinda launched herself onto her bed, flipping through a magazine.

"I've already tried. No response."

"You realize she's only been gone for three days, right?" Galinda asked. "Your letter probably didn't even reach her until yesterday."

He shrugged. "I'm really worried about her."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Frex didn't murder her."

Fiyero's eyes widened. "Do you-"

"Go, Fiyero. Or you'll be late."

Fiyero ducked out of the room, walking down the same hall as he had with Elphaba on their first (and only) date.

The only difference was; no Elphaba.


	11. Last Train

**Yay more of this story, I'm feeling inspired. That and I .realize the last chapter was bad. **

**thank you to my reviewers who gave me IDEAS. **

**StuckInSouthstairs; thanks you for your informative reviews. First of all, you may have spoken too soon about Fiyero obeying. Dont worry; Ephabas not going to forgive him so easily this time. Yeah, I realize I did a terrible job of saying that a lot of time had gone by; I was kind of writing that at midnight. And on the subject of Galinda; shes trying to be strong for Fiyero, and her visit to Elphaba will be eventful to say the least. Oh, and the photo is in the chapter after this one again (12). Just still not fixed. **

**Ravencurls; yep. he's got a criminal record, cuz clearly Munchkins weren't smart enough to realize that when he was evil to his eldest daughter that he was not still a benevolent ruler. Argh. Oh well.**

**Elphiesglinda; I suppose that's true. And I'm not saying Nessa's this perfect little girl or an evil brat... More like a perfect evil brat child.**

**Anywho; this chapter is a filler, and the OC in it does not come back, but she knows someone who does. **

* * *

It was a most unfortunate event that on the day the king and queen of the Vinkus arrived to take their son home for break, he was not there.

Yes, Fiyero Tiggular had boarded the last train to Munchkinland in a vain attempt at seeing Elphaba again. He didn't consider it "running away", because running away implies that you are running from something. He was not running from anything. He was running to something. Someone. His Elphaba.

Now he sat on the wooden seat, next to another student from Shiz, on her way home for Lurlinemas. She was a senior this year, but even seniors knew of Fiyero Tiggular's scandalacious reputation.

She had short dark hair, so close to Elphaba's coloring that he had to fight his hand in reaching out to touch it.

"So, you're Fiyero Tiggular," she stated, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Somehow, I pictured Mr. Dancing Through Life a bit more... I don't know. Happy-go-lucky. You seem... Preoccupied. And I thought your reputation said you didn't think."

He looked sideways at her. "I lost my... Girlfriend. This week." He smiled at calling Elphaba his girlfriend, eveththought he had the feeling she'd object

The girl nodded. "Ah. Yes. Miss Elphaba Thropp. So, what really happened? I mean, I know the gossip, but I think you can vouch for its irreliability."

"What's the gossip on it?"

She shrugged. "They're saying that you teased her about her skin, and she left because she'd been in love with you for some time, and you hurt her."

He frowned at her. "That's not what happened."

"Then what did happen?"

"Well, we only had one date. Then I made the mistake of letting people know about it after she'd told me not to. Her sister blabbed to her father, and he pulled her out of school." Fiyero shook his head. "It's all my fault. I should have considered that there might have been a reason behind her request."

'It's my fault' Elphaba's voice echoed in his head. Curse his inept word choice.

"Why'd he pull her out?"

"Because he's evil," Fiyero said bluntly.

The girl laughed. "I'm sure you have reasons to think that, given your relationship. But this is Frexspar the Godly we're talking about. Shouldn't you show some respect?"

Fiyero snorted. "'Godly'? I've been compiling quite a list of words to describe that man, and 'godly' didn't exactly make the cut." He sighed. "This is all my fault, and I have to make it right."

She nodded. "How is it your fault?"

"It just is. I may have gone snooping in her things, because I'm me, you know? And she got really upset and nearly killed herself with a spell, then I broke up with her best friend and asked her out, and when she said no I kept pestering her for weeks until she said yes. Then I blabbed to the whole school that she'd gone out with me, and... Do you see my point now?"

She nodded. "I suppose this was the only thing you could do then."

"What?"

"Go to her. And I think you'll find her glad to see you." The train lurched, and she grabbed her bags. "This is my stop. Farewell, Master Tiggular."

"Farewell, Miss...?"

She smiled. "Mariana Cloini."

"Miss Cloini, then. Good day."

And she left, and he sat in silence until the train reached Munchkinland.

He hadn't brought much with him; only two bags. Traveling lightly ensured his arrival at the Munchkinland Capitol before noon.


	12. Reunited

**Guess what? I'm seeing WICKED tomorrow night for the 5th time! YES YES YES YES YES YES! My seats? Seventh row, center. Beautiful. I intend to scream loud enough for the whole world To hear.**

**And, to celebrate, I am posting what is probably the second most depressing chapter in this story (after the next one :-)) So, how does that work?**

**thanks to my reviewers.**

**Hopefully this satisfies the need for a disclaimer; WICKED=NOT MINE, but I can still pretend, right? I mean, imagination had to count for something.**

**so yay, this ones back to Elphie!**

* * *

She'd said the spell again.

It was a desperate effort to see her mother's kind face, an innocent attempt at finding love, if only in her memories.

She wondered why she kept doing it, if it only brought her pain.

But for the brief moment when she was there with her mother again, it was worth it.

"What's the baby's name, Mommy?" The young Elphaba asked.

"Well, if the baby is a girl, her name is Nessarose," Melena said, a smile on her face. "If it is a boy, his name is-"

"Melena!" Frex's voice broke into the moment, and the young Elphaba turned to see him burst in through the door. "Come away from her," he growled.

Melena stood, placing herself between her husband and her daughter.

"Melena, we wouldn't want the baby to turn out-"

"If it was contagious, don't you think I'd be green by now?"

Frex stepped closer to his wife. "Come and rest, dear." He held out a milk flower almost as an offering.

Melena sighed, turned to Elphaba, and smiled. Then she went with Frex, leaving Elphaba alone as the scene shifted.

"She's your daughter, Frex!" Melena's voice shook Elphaba to the core.

"She's a curse. She's dishonored this family."

"By being born? I'm sure she couldn't have stopped that!"

"Have you looked at her lately, Melena? Her condition can only be a punishment from the Unnamed God."

"That doesn't change the fact that she's your daughter, and you should treat her with respect!"

"Now, Melena, don't get yourself worked up," Frex's voice said soothingly, and Elphaba gritted her teeth against the urge to slap him.

Elphaba wished for the thousandth time that she could control what she saw, because she was suddenly back in her room, with the door locked, on the day that her mother had died.

So this was what she got for trusting people. For opening up. Pain. And now she was all alone again, anyway, and had forfeited her chance at the education that could get her a job away from here.

* * *

The door was very tall. This is what Fiyero was considering as he knocked. It was Munchkinland, so why was the door so tall? It really didn't make sense.

"Yes?" A young man in a royal blue uniform answered the door. "State your business."

"I- um. I'm here to see Elphaba. I'm a friend of hers from Shiz." Fiyero looked down at his shoes.

The Munchkin boy looked up at him. "Are you Fiyero?"

He nodded.

"The Governor told me that if you came I was to tell you that you should go back to Shiz, because you won't be seeing her."

Fiyero panicked. "What? No, I have to see her!" If he wasn't going to be let in, this Munchkin annoyance might be out of commission for a while.

"I'm sorry, sir," the boy shrugged. "I'm just following orders."

Fiyero gripped the boy's shirt tightly, practically lifting him off the ground. "Listen, punk," he spat. "You're going to tell me where she is, and then I'm going to put you down- _if_ I put you down-, you will not tell anyone I was here. Got that?"

The boy's eyes widened, and he nodded, terrified.

"Good. Now, where is Miss Elphaba?"

"Second floor, turn right, last door in the hallway," the child wheezed.

Fiyero dropped him in a crumpled heap on the ground, then took the steps two at a time as he ran up them and onto the second floor of the Governor's mansion.

He knocked lightly on the door, but there was no answer. Not that he'd really expected her to answer.

He started to turn the knob, but it stuck. Locked.

"Elphaba?" He called softly. "It's Fiyero."

He still didn't hear her, and he suddenly regretted that he'd left his bags at the motel where he was staying. He could surely use something to let this open. Grumbling, he reached into his pocket, retrieved the pen he'd used to sign the check for his room earlier, and stuck the tip into the lock.

The door popped open, and Fiyero slid into the room.

It was dark, with the light from a lonely lamp casting long shadows around the room. Elphaba was huddled on the bed, her head pressed into her knees, her hair falling down to cover her face.

"Elphaba," he sighed, and he came toward her, longing to wrap her in his arms and whisper sweet nothings in her ear.

She pulled her head up, looking at him. When she registered who it was, she fell back onto the pillow with a groan. "Fiyero..."

He came to her, and sat next to her, and started to reach over and put his arm around her shoulders. But she pulled away before he could, climbing off the bed and ignoring he wave of nausea that came over her.

"Don't touch me," she said, voice breaking.

"Elphaba, I'm sorry-"

"Go away."

In the gleam of the lantern, he saw a large bruise on her cheek, and he swore, wanting to help but knowing he'd only make it worse.

"Elphaba, listen to me. I never meant for this to happen. I-"

"Save it," she spat. "You should have listened to me when I told you not to tell. No, no. I should have refused you. I knew there would be consequences. I did this to myself."

He came toward her again, reaching out a hand as an offering. "I just want another chance."

"No. You'll only leave me like you did Galinda."

"I'll never leave you. I love-"

"Liar!" she shouted. "You've most likely said that to every girl in Oz. You think it's funny to lead me on. To get me to open up, and then drop me. Well, I'm not going to fall over myself to get on your good side, Fiyero Tiggular. Because you are a lying, cheating, rat without a soul!"

Fiyero stood, stunned, as she ranted, and he was surprised she said what she did. It hurt, but what hurt most was the bitter truth of it.

"Elphaba, please-"

"Get out, Fiyero," she said, her voice a low, cold growl.

"But I-"

"Out!" she roared, and he heard the shattering of glass and the break of wood as she threw something- hard- at the wall nearest him.

He looked over to see the ruined picture in pieces on the floor. He looked back up at Elphaba, only to find that she'd buried her face in her pillow, and was lying there silently, as if refusing to acknowledge his presence.

Fiyero gently gathered up the pieces of the picture, folding them neatly into his coat, and walked out of the room, wishing that she could forgive him and they could go back to being happy, as it always had been.

But, he realized, he'd gotten her to "happy" before, and it was most likely the only time she had been truly content for a long, long time. And he'd ruined it. He'd made it worse than it had been before.

He'd sacrificed her happiness and her dream, and why? Because he'd needed to show off the fact that he had her as his girlfriend.

Well, perhaps that Fiyero Tiggular was gone.

Perhaps he was a new person now.

Perhaps she'd changed him.

* * *

**Okay, yes, I realize Fiyeros arrival was a bit rushed, and he probably couldn't really unlock the door with a pen, but hey? It's my story and I therefore can do what I want.**

**Also, I will be following this through to the musical's ending, so there will be many many more chapters. I'm cursing you all By doing this, aren't I? **

**oh, and if anyone has a favorite line from this (or any) chapter, I'd apprieciate hearing it so that I can tell what the people like.**

**;-) tata.**


	13. Restored

**Yay updating, okay this chapter caused me much pain. I deleted my entire draft, and had to rewrite. **

**Anywho, hope you like it!**

**disclaimer; Nope...**

* * *

"Can it be fixed?" Fiyero asked the sorcerer.

The Munchkin man smiled showing off a row of yellowed and blackened teeth. "'Course it can. But nothing comes without a price, princely boy."

"I can pay."

Fiyero plunked ten real Vinkun coins down on the table, and the Munchkin's eyes gleamed with greed as he took his dirt-encrusted spell book off of his table and gathered the pieces of the ruined picture into his arms.

He leafed through the book with his stubby fingers, and when the pages settled, he began to chant.

Fiyero had heard Elphaba chant before, but it was nothing like this. When she did it, it was beautiful, mysterious, and exhilarating, just like her, and the power she called from herself was thick in the air and almost tangible, opening his eyes to the world just a little bit more.

This man's chanting was gruffly done, and the amount of power it called into the room was feeble compared to what he was used to. It even made what little oxygen was in the room harder to breathe.

But it was worth it to see the damage slowly peal off of the photograph. Melena's gentle features became visible, her thick hair curling right before his eyes, and the baby Elphaba's eyes, nose, and mouth sharpened, and she was almost as beautiful as the real thing.

Soon Fiyero could hold the photo in one piece again, and he thanked the sorcerer breathlessly, taking the picture and walking out of the room and back toward the Governor's Mansion.

* * *

"I thought I told you no guests!" Frex screamed, and Elphaba cringed at the volume of his voice.

"I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me, girl!" He gripped her hair and yanked her up, then pulled back his hand and struck her across the face. She fell back, whimpering in pain.

"I-"

He struck her again. "You continue to be a curse to this family!"

"I- I'm sorry," she gasped, as he grabbed her wrist. She could feel his warm, foul breath, damp on her face. She felt his nails tearing into her flesh, saw the blood beading on them, and she let out a little cry.

He shoved her backward, and she fell onto the ground with a hollow thump. Then he kicked her with the toe of his boot, and she yelped in pain.

Frex turned around, finished now, but was surprised to find himself looking into cold sapphire eyes.

"Watch yourself," Fiyero growled threateningly. "Do you know who I am?" He lowered his voice to a dull roar.

"Fi- Fiyero Tiggular, Crown Prince of the Vinkus," Frex croaked out.

"Smart, are we? Well, why don't you crawl back to your hidey-hole and stay there for a while?"

Frex narrowed his eyes at Fiyero, who immediately grabbed two fistfuls of the Governor's shirt, lifting him off the ground.

"I can call my guards at any minute to arrest you," the Governor said warningly.

"Well. It's surprising then, that I didn't see any of your guards on my way in," Fiyero hissed.

Frex paled, and the sheen of perspiration on his face was visible even in the low light.

Fiyero suddenly dropped the Governor, and he quickly scrambled to get away from the Winkie boy. Coward.

Fiyero knelt next to Elphaba, who was crumpled on the floor clutching her stomach, where her father had kicked her.

"Are you okay, Elphaba?" Fiyero asked.

She nodded feebly. "I-" she winced, "I'm fine. I've seen worse."

He put his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. "Yes, but you've also seen better."

She let out a hiss of pain. "Fiyero... Thank you." She wasn't ready to forgive him yet, but she could thank him.

He smiled at her, and then held out the restored photograph as he had his hand the day before. As a peace offering.

She put out a hand to touch it, tentatively, as though she was afraid it would vanish. Then she held it in her hands, and looked at Melena's image with a special kind of love in her eyes that Fiyero could only hope would be directed at him one day.

"Fiyero... You're amazing." She looked back at the picture, and her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I- I never got to say goodbye to her."

Fiyero didn't push her; she'd say more if she wanted to.

And she did. "My father refused to let me go to her funeral. He made me stay here. And I never-" her voice broke, "She never... I... I can't talk about this anymore." He was still holding her, and she melted into his touch.

Then she remembered that she couldn't forgive him, at least not yet, and pulled away, trying to ignore his hurt expression.

There was a knock on the door.

"Fabala? It's Nessa. I'm home, and I need to talk to you." She opened the door, wheeling herself into the room. "Fabala- Fiyero?" She didn't even try to conceal her surprise.

Fiyero smiled a smile that would have all of Oz's female population swooning at his feet, but Nessa just glared at her sister.

"Father said you weren't to have visitors, Fabala," she scolded. "Well, never mind that now." She transferred her glare to Fiyero. "Can you leave? It's important."

Fiyero nodded. "Alright. I'll try to come back tomorrow, Elphaba."

"Don't strain yourself," Elphaba snapped, suddenly annoyed with him again.

Fiyero slipped out the door shaking his head at Elphaba's fluctuating personality, and Nessa immediately turned back to her sister. "Madame Morrible told me to make sure you got this." She handed Elphaba a green envelope, with "Oz" emblazoned in gold on the front.

Elphaba was tearing it open before Nessa had even let go completely. Her head was spinning.

"What is it, Fabala? Morrible wouldn't tell me." Nessa's voice sounded excited, and even anxious.

"Oh, Nessie! I'm going to see the Wizard! I'm going to the Emerald City! Madame Morrible told him about me... Oh, Nessa! I might get to work with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!" Elphaba felt strangely... Giddy. And she wanted to say she didn't, but it felt good.

"I'm so happy for you, Fabala," Nessa said earnestly. "And I know Father will be too, when you tell him."

Their father wouldn't be happy. He'd be angry. "Nessa, you have to let me tell him myself. Please," Elphaba pleaded frantically.

"Of course, Fabala," Nessa said sweetly.

The younger girl wheeled out of the room, and Elphaba grabbed the fixed picture frame off the bed and held it close to her chest as if her life depended on it.

"Hear that, Mama?" She whispered. "I'm going to meet the Wizard."

But, what if she had to take a test? What if she failed? What if the Wizard thought she was a disgrace to Oz, like her father did?

But she'd worry about that when the time came.

Until then, she could be happy.

But happy doesn't usually last long. At least not for her.

"Have you told Father yet?" Nessa asked the next day, as the two sisters sat side by side in Nessa's room, Elphaba with a book in her lap, and Nessa brushing her hair in preparation for a party that Frex was throwing for his Munchkinland business associates. Of course Nessa was to come; she had a way of charming the elderly men. And of course Elphaba wasn't; she had a way of scaring elderly men. Or any man.

"No," Elphaba said, shaking her head. "He's still kind of mad at me, so I'm waiting until it blows over."

Nessarose frowned into the mirror and stopped brushing her hair, and turned to her sister. "When does the Wizard want to see you?"

"Two days after break ends." Elphaba didn't even look up from her book.

"We only have three weeks of break, Elphaba. If you don't tell him before tonight, I will."

Elphaba looked up over her glasses at her sister. "Is that a threat, Nessa?"

The younger girl stuck her chin in the air. "Maybe." She patted Elphaba's arm softly. "But don't worry. I'm giving you until tonight."

"Wow. Thanks," the green girl said sarcastically.

"I mean it, Fabala."

"I know you do."

* * *

"Nessarose Thropp!" Elphaba shouted. "You promised you'd give me until tonight to tell him!"

Her younger sister blushed furiously. "I knew you weren't going to do it."

"I was figuring out the best way to-"

"Now look," Nessa said, her voice as cold as steel. "Now he knows, and you don't have to do it yourself, and everything is fine."

"It's not fine!" Elphaba felt her magic building up inside of her. "Nessa, he forbade me to go!"

Nessa gasped. "Oh, Fabala! I'm so, so sorry."

Elphaba glared at her sister. "You're not sorry." Green sparks flew dangerously between her hands.

"Of course I am," Nessa snapped. "You know I-"

"You never wanted me to go to begin with! You can't stand to see something good happen to me!" A nearby lamp very literally exploded.

"Don't be dumb, Fabala. Of course I want you to meet the Wizard. It's-"

"You want me to stay here! Alone and miserable, right here in Munchkinland forever and ever!"

"Well, so what? Maybe I do. Maybe I don't want to say goodbye to the one person who cares about me."

"You are a selfish, selfish child, Nessa. You want me to be miserable!"

The younger girl backed away from her sister. "I just don't want you to leave me here alone."

Elphaba let out a blood-curdling scream. "I'll never forgive you! You betrayed my dating Fiyero to Father, and now you've ruined my chances at happiness!"

"I-" Nessa broke off as another china decoration blew up dangerously close to her, and she wheeled back into her room and left Elphaba to rant alone.


	14. Off to see the Wizard

**Now. Guess what I did last night? I HUGGED THE WITCHES OF OZ! **

**Cuz after the show I was all "let's go wait outside the stage door" and then the entire cast comes out (oh and Fiyero was like running away. He got out of there scarily fast) and I go up to Elphaba and go "Can I hug you?" And she was like "sure" and then I took a picture (unfortunately the lighting is terrible and you can't really see it too well) with her and got her autograph. **

**So then Glinda comes out like ten minutes later and she's totally still in "Glinda the Good" mode and it was so adorabubble. So then I got her autograph and took a picture with her (again, bad lighting, grr,) and my brother was like the same height as her and she was like "yes I'm very wee for my age" and I kind of went crazy. **

**So, then the Wizard comes about and he's so awesome in real life, and he was all "what's your name" and then he wrote a note to me on my program, and then these two little kids start talking to him they were all "hi Mr Wizard. It's my birthday today," and he wished them happy birthday and I just found it so ironic cuz you know the Wizard was supposedly all that and a bag of chips, and he'd grant peoples wishes (and give organ transplants. Hehe.) and WICKED is like everyone's wish, you know? So yeah. **

**Anyhow, it was a super good cast, and I can officially hit all the notes in the show (cuz it was my summer goal to be able to do that, I mastered the last note of INTG yesterday after the show) all the way from Glinda's soprano in NOMTW to INTG and everything in between, it's a very happy day. **

**They did ALAYM really scarily well. I mean, seriously, it was all like "let's go sit in a forest together and sing, cuz we're the cutest couple ever." Also, I believe that the transition between INTG reprise and ALAYM is just magical.**

**They also did Defying Gravity really well, and afterwards I couldn't even talk, but the people behind me were like "you were right, it's an amazing show so far, and we really enjoyed watching you," cuz I was really getting into it. Also, I made friends with five people there. SOME HAD SEEN THE ORIGINAL CAST! Gasp gasp gasp.**

**also, I had crazy good seats. Row C, literally the very center. And at the end I screamed at the top of my lungs "I stand with Elphaba" and she smiled, and I was like, AHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh my Oz you smiled at me! *faint***

**okay, what else? Oh, so Yero and Elphie had like perfect chemistry. It was really cute cuz the actress who played Elphaba was really tiny and adorable, and then Fiyero was this super tall guy, and he could like envelope her completely when they hugged, which you don't see a lot in the show. **

**Umm... Best popular EVER. So, Elphaba says "this is never going to work," right? So then, Galinda just falls onto her frilly pink in a heap, and it's silent for a minute. Then you here "Ellpphhiieee..." In this really low ominous growl, before she jumps up and is all perky again like "you mustn't think that way anymore." **

**Also, Glinda did a really great job of being both happy and sad in act 2. Best Glinda I've ever seen (and I've seen many)**

**ooohhh. And, my cousins (the Wicked non-believers) they saw it last week, remember? So, the day after I saw them. (And one of them had Japanese soup for breakfast. 8-l) and i gave them a questionnaire. They don't understand my obsession completely, but they do understand iMovie, so we made WICKED out takes. it was hilarious.**

**Oh, and my sympathy for act 1 Nessa increased like a lot. THIS ACTRESS WAS AMAZING. But I don't feel guilty in the slightest for making her out to be a spoiled brat child Last chapter**

**and I was seeing it with some people who hadn't, along with my dad. And he was like "you can't reference wicked in front of them before they see it" and you have no idea how hard that is for me. So then he makes a point of subtly referencing it HIMSELF. Grr.**

**okay, now, this chapter is like only half as long as the AN, but hey? I've been writing longer ones lately, haven't I? No, I mean it's REALLY short. **

**Still appreciate if you have favorite lines from ANY chapter. **

**Oh, and it was brought to my attention that this was marked as complete, but I fixed it, it's because this was originally a oneshot. **

**Okay, one more thing. On the last chapter, my page breaks didn't show up,so that must've been confusifying. The last two scenes with Nessa and Elphaba were SEPARATE. I have spoken.**

**disclaimer; my ability to befriend the cast of wicked does not give me rights to it, unfortunately. But hey! Worth a shot. Oh well. Have to go raise $800,000,000. Have fun reading while I'm gone.**

**oh, if you've read this whole AN, say "i stand with Elphaba" at the beginning of your review, (cuz I'm assuming you'll review. Wink wink.)**

**So yeah. Shortest chapter ever, coming right up. **

* * *

There was nothing left for her.

Nessa had betrayed her, had proven that she was a selfish brat.

Her father had never been much to tie her to this country to begin with, and certainly not now.

There was Fiyero, of course, but she wasn't ready to forgive him. He'd given her too much reason to distrust him.

And there was no one else, save maybe Galinda, but the bubbly blonde was back home in the Upper Uplands now.

And this was the opportunity of a lifetime, to meet the Wizard. So Elphaba gathered her things- which were few- and attempted to calm her nerves- which were many- and slipped out of the house near one a.m., relishing the exhilarating feeling of running with the dewy grass against her legs, the selfishly cold kiss of the wind as it tore through her hair and chilled her body, quenching the burning magical fire that threatened to implode at any moment.

Elphaba longed to see the Emerald City. The City that had been built by the Wizard only the year before she was born. A City that was entirely and infallibly green.


	15. Emerald City

**Oh my Oz you guys! It's been forever. Okay, if you've read my A/Ns on other stories, you'll have already heard this, but I'd just like you to know that I haven't been neglecting this story. I have written up to chapter 30. It gets better after Elphaba meets the Wizard.**

**Oh, and Galinda's back this chapter. Yay! Yero's not. Not so yay.**

* * *

She'd left again. Without him. Did she care for him at all?

Fiyero had admitted his love for her to himself on the day he'd found her outside in the rain. Or had it been before that? He didn't – couldn't – know, because he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't loved her.

He loved everything about her; the green didn't matter to him. He wouldn't love her any less if she wasn't; but he loved her even more because of it .

Fiyero had been coming to the Governor's mansion every day since he'd arrived in Munchkinland. After the day Nessa had gotten home, she'd seemed much happier.

"You seem uncharacteristically chipper," he'd commented the next day.

She'd cocked an eyebrow at him, but her smile stayed. "I'm to meet the Wizard," she'd said, and Fiyero had wrapped her in a tight hug, and he was slightly surprised when she returned it.

She'd been happy for a few days, then had gone back to morose ,stony silence That day, the tense magic building up inside her had been tangible, and Fiyero had begun to worry that she would implode.

That had been yesterday.

Today she was gone.

The Emerald City was exactly the way Elphaba had imagined it; terrifyingly intimidating, scarily grand, and shockingly, infallibly green. As green as she was herself.

But the most amazing part of the whole city, was that no one seemed to give her skin a second look. Oh, sure, they looked, but it was more of a curious look than a mocking one.

She was even – she dared to admit – fashionable.

She wondered briefly, as she walked down the cobbled sidewalk, if this was how Galinda felt when she'd started wearing neon heels.

Elphaba felt a sharp pang when she thought of her friend. Galinda was, she realized, the only person in Oz that she truly cared about.

No, that wasn't true. There was Fiyero. Fiyero, who she'd refused to forgive because he'd been . . . scandalacious, as Galinda would say. Fiyero, who she thought she might like. As more than a friend.

It had been an almost subconscious thought, and it terrified her. It terrified her that she could have feelings like that, for anyone.

Then she found herself staring at a large, imposingly beautiful, undeniably emerald building, the apartment building where she'd be staying.

And she squashed her terror as she reached out to touch the cool wall. She could feel the pulsing power coursing through her upon contact with it.

"Excuse me, Miss?" said a voice from behind her. "But what are you doing here?"

Elphaba turned around to see quite a tiny girl inside quite a huge dress. Her eyes were rimmed in disturbingly green make-up, and the dress must have contained at least twenty shades of the same color.

But the most surprising thing was that the little girl looked almost exactly like Galinda. Her eyes were a rich azure blue, her hair a honey gold.

"Wow!" the girl exclaimed. "That's some make-up job." She didn't even let Elphaba answer her question.

"What is?" Elphaba asked, before realizing that she was referring to Elphaba's green skin. "Oh. This. It's – "

"Chandra!" a man's voice interrupted her.

Chandra smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I have to go. Are you staying here? Maybe I'll see you again, and you could tell me the secret to getting your make-up so smooth."

"I am," Elphaba said, smiling shyly at the girl, who she judged to be around fourteen years old.

Chandra nodded, jumped up and down giddily, and succeeded in making Elphaba miss Galinda more than ever.

"Galinda? Which of these is your favorite?" Chandra held up two dresses next to each other to be scrutinized by her sister.

Galinda looked up from the dress rack she was sifting through. She tilted her head, and considered for a moment.

One was silk, the other was satin. One was mint green, the other emerald.

"Emerald," Galinda said finally, and her little sister happily pranced over to the register.

Galinda smiled. Shopping with Elphie at Shiz had been fun, but she'd missed her sister's color choices; with Elphie it was always blacks and blues, aside from a one week period when Galinda had shoved a few purple things in among her friend's frocks.

Here in the City of Emeralds, most of the clothes were green, but a few select boutiques offered the latest styles in other colors as well.

Galinda, no matter how hard she tried, associated green with Elphaba, and it was impossible to avoid the color in the city.

The Uplands' tour of Oz had landed them in the City of Emeralds for Lurlinemas itself, and Galinda an Chandra, along with their mother, were having the time of their lives purchasing dresses for the holiday.

They'd immediately upgraded their wardrobes to the standards of the city, and Galinda's usually pink couture had been replaced (at least temporarily) by lavish greens.

Galinda was now walking over to join her sister at the check-out, but Chandra was now standing near a display of make-up.

"Should I paint myself green, Galinda?" the fourteen year old asked.

A vision of Elphie flashed through the blonde's mind. "No," she said, "What gave you that idea?"

Chandra shrugged. "I met a girl outside our building who was done up like that."

Galinda nodded. If Chandra decided to paint herself green, Galinda would cry because of Elphie. She wished Munchkinland was earlier on their tour; if they got there too late, Frex could have killed her.

But then, Fiyero was there, and he wouldn't let anything happen to Elphaba; it was obvious he was in love with the green girl.

This was why Galinda had gotten over their breakup; she truly believed that the Vinkan prince and her roommate were the most perfect couple in all Oz.

With that crisis averted, the Upland sisters bought their clothes and walked out the door.

Galinda adjusted the green hairband holding back her blond curls, and smoothed the layered green skirt of the dress that fell only halfway to her knees before climbing out of the carriage that had driven the Upland girls from the center of the Emerald City to their apartment building.

Elphaba had dropped off her single bag of luggage in her small, rented apartment, and now was stepping out of the building again, ready to see more of the famous City of Emeralds.

Given that her meeting with the Wizard wasn't for two weeks, she used the money she'd been provided with (probably meant to buy only a night or two in some up-scale suite) to arrange two weeks' time in this building, which was pretty expensive, even though it was the lowest-priced apartment in this part of the city. Then again, the building also housed the most expensive suites, for very long-term living arrangements, so Elphaba wasn't really surprised.

Now she stepped into the sun and began to walk down the sidewalk, but a shrill voice from a carriage parked outside the building startled her.

Elphaba looked toward it, noting that there were horses driving it, not Horses, and that their pelts were snowy white. She blinked, and the horses were suddenly bright purple. She smiled, horses of many colors; they were famous in the city.

She shielded her eyes against the sun, but could still only make out the outline of the figure standing there.

"Oh my Oz!" the voice shrieked, and Elphaba saw the sun catch on the person's blond hair. "Oh my Oz, Elphie!?"

**Dun dun dun/ My pathetic attempt at a cliffie. ;-P**

**Okay, here's an overview of the next few chapters.**

**-stuff in E.C**

**-Meeting with the WIzard/defying gravity/that stuff.**

**-It goes AU from there... even more so than it is already I mean. By that you know there's gonna be Fae and Yero cuteness. And some not so cuteness.**


	16. Galinda

**Hullo again! More of this now that I'm not obsessively writing other stuff too. **

**Yeah. Chandra's named after Chandra Lee Schwartz. Just cuz she played Glinda and I was looking at names of Glinda's to name Galinda's sister. yup.**

**Next chapter Yero's back. Indirectly, but back. Hehe.**

* * *

"Galinda?" Elphaba immediately ran toward her friend.

The blonde literally jumped into Elphaba's embrace, and the two held each other like they hadn't seen each other in years, even if it'd only been two weeks.

"Elphie, is it really you?"

"Glin, there aren't a lot of green people in Oz, even here."

"Oh, Elphie... I was afraid Frex had murdered you." It was a legitimate fear.

Elphaba laughed. "I'm pretty difficult to murder, Glin."

"I can see that."

The girls pulled apart, smiling broadly, and then realized that Chandra had joined them, looking horribly confusified.

"Oh, Elphie, this is my little sister, Chandra. Chandra, my bestest friend in the whole world, Elphie!" Galinda bounced up and down excitedly.

Elphaba stuck out her hand and Chandra took it. "We've met. Unofficially of course."

"Nice to meet you, Elphie," Chandra said solemnly.

Elphaba groaned. "My name is Elphaba, so please don't call me that again."

Chandra frowned. "But Galinda-"

"Has come up with horrendible nicknames for practically everyone at Shiz. Her boyfriend was called "FiFi" at one point."

Chandra smiled. "I think it's cute."

Elphaba wrinkled her nose. "Elphie or FiFi?"

"Elphie. Though FiFi is too..."

"Sweet Oz," Ephaba groaned. "She's like your twin Galinda."

Her former roommate smiled appreciatively. "Thanks Elphie." Then she let out a high-pitched shriek. "Now you have to tell me everything! First; why are you here. Second; are you and Fiyero back together? Third; can I give you a makeover? Fourth; LET'S GO SHOPPING!"

Elphaba sighed. "First; To see the Wizard. Second; yes. Kind of. It's complicated. Third; absolutely not. And fourth; no."

"Wait, the Wizard? You're here to see the Wizard? SWEET OZ ELPHIE I MISSED SO MUCH WHILE YOU WERE AWAY!"

Elphaba shrugged. "It's nothing really. Morrible wrote to him about my improvements in sorcery."

"So we can't call her Horrible Morrible anymore?"

"I'm still calling her Horrible Morrible. She's just not quite as Horrible as before."

Galinda clapped her hands. "Oh Elphie! We have to have a celebratory dinner tonight."

"Can't, Glin. I've got studying to do."

"Why?" Galinda pouted. "You're not in school anymore."

Elphaba winced at that. "I know. I just want to be able to impress the Wizard."

The petite blonde waved a hand. "You'll impress him without excessive studying and an unhealthy sleep schedule."

"What-"

"Elphie, I was your roommate at Shiz. I know what you're like."

* * *

"Elphie Elphie Elphie with you stop studying for two minutes so I can give you something?"

Elphaba was in her room, studying as promised, and Galinda pounded mercilessly on the door.

The green girl pulled the door open to reveal Galinda, bouncing excitedly up and down.

"What Glin?" Elphaba said tiredly.

Galinda plopped down on Elphaba's bed. "Well, I was on my way to visit you when I bumped into this guy."

"Is this about him asking you out?"

"No. Eew. He was like sixty. No, he had a letter for you, so I offered to bring it to you for him."

"If it's from Nessa or my father I'm going to burn it."

"Nope." The blonde brandished a bright green envelope.

Elphaba took it from her friend and tore it open, hands trembling.

Galinda bounced excitedly on the bed. "What does it say Elphie? It's from the wizard. I know that. What does he want. I don't know. Elphie you're reading it in your head I have to know what he said!"

"He's moved the date of my audience. To tomorrow." Elphaba whispered.

"OH MY OZ ELPHIE! THIS IS SO THRILLIFYING!"

"Galinda you don't understand. I'm not ready. I built my schedule around having two weeks to prepare."

Galinda patted her friend's shoulder. "It's okay. The Wizard's going to love you."

Elphaba smiled hesitantly. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

Elphaba seized her friend's hand in a vise-like grip. "Glin, you'll come with me, won't you?"

"To see the Wizard?" Galinda squealed. "Of course! I'd love to! Oh, thank you, Elphie! This is so amazifying!" She frowned. "But what am I going to wear? What are you going to wear? WE HAVE TO GO SHOPPING ELPHIE!"

"Oh joy." Elphaba smiled as insincerely as was humanly possible.

**Shopping next chapter. Poor Elphie.**


	17. Shopping

**Hi! More Picture Frame, even though the picture isn't in it now...**

* * *

"Elphie?" Galinda brandished a neon green strapless top. Elphaba shook her head. She'd been pretty compliant with Galinda today, mostly because was too nervous to fight back much. The blonde had even shoved he into a pink dress at one point.

But this was too much. "Glin, green people don't look good in green."

Galinda bit her lip. "Oh. Right I see your point." She put the top back on the rack. "Than we'll go with these."

Elphaba followed her chipper friend back to the dressing rooms, where she felt like she tried on a million different outfits.

And Galinda, of course, took a picture of her in every single on with her bright pink phone **(A/N yup. I know they don't have phones in Oz. It is my story, and Galinda does, just go with it).**

"Elphie? Come on." Galinda called when Elphaba seemed to be taking an unusually long time.

"I'm not coming out Galinda."

The blonde laughed, "of course you are."

"Not in this."

The petite girl frowned. "Which one is it?" When her friend didn't respond, she stomped her heeled foot on the ground. "Please, Elphie? Please please please please please?"

"Fine," Elphaba barked as she pushed the door open. The offending outfit was a ruffled black miniskirt paired with a white sleeveless burgundy blouse and a wide belt.

"Elphie, you look beautiful," Galinda announced, and when Elphaba's lips turned up in a half-smile, she snapped a photo with her phone.

The green girl frowned. "I never said... What are you doing?"

Galinda was typing rapidly on the small device, the pink tip of her tongue stuck between her teeth.

Elphaba snatched the phone away from her friend. A message blinked on the screen. 'Your message has been sent.' Horrified, Elphaba looked up at her friend. "Glin, who'd you send this to?"

Galinda looked down sheepishly. "Just... Fiyero."

"You sent this to FIYERO?" Elphaba shrieked.

The phone buzzed and Galinda snatched it back. She smiled at Elphaba. "Fiyero says it looks adorable on you."

Elphaba snorted. "He did not say 'adorable'." She took the phone back and read the message. She was correct. Fiyero's exact words were; "She looks hot. I'll buy you pink heels if you get her into swimwear." The phone buzzed again a moment later, when Fiyero's brain had caught up with him.

"Are you with her in E.C.?"

Galinda stole her phone back and typed in "yes."

"How'd you rope her into shopping?"

"Nervous Elphabas are easy to convince."

"Ah. You up for pink heels."

"It's Elphaba now. I'm not trying on swimwear."

"And I was so hoping you would... So, are we cool now? And now that we're on this 'defying fathers' track, what do you say about another date?"

The green girl blushed and shoved the phone back at Galinda.

"It's Galinda again. Since I'm assuming that last question was for Elphie, I'm not answering it. Pink heels sound great. I'll see what I can do. ;-)."

";-)."

**Yeah I know cell phones in Oz isn't normal. Whatever. It's my story. just like how Fiyero can open doors with a pen if I want him to.**


	18. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

**Hi again. So, here's the next chapter. I love your reviews.**

**Not mine. **

**This is edited. I introduced an OC here, and told Defying Gravity from his point of view cuz I was feeling pathetic.**

* * *

"I'm really nervous, Glin," Elphaba said as they stood, waiting to be ushered into the wizard's throne room.

"Don't be," Galinda said confidently.

Elphaba's heart pounded wildly in her chest, and she got the sense that too much blood was running through her veins. She tried to take deep breaths, but they came shallow.

"You've been preparing for this since you came to Shiz, you're ready." The little blonde smiled cheerfully at her friend.

"His Ozness will see you now," a tall man in a Gale Force Uniform said tersely.

"I AM OZ." A loud, booming voice filled the room. "THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE. WHO ARE YOU?"

Elphaba took a step forward. "I am Elphaba Thropp. Your... Terribleness."

Immediately, the smoke dissipated and a little man came into view.

"Oh, Elphaba. I didn't know it was you." The Wizard of Oz took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. "And really, am I so terrible? I'm only- SWEET OZ."

Elphaba winced. So much for the Wizard seeing past her green skin.

"Your Ozness, I realize that my... Skin tone is a bit startling, but I can assure you that it's not contagious or anything."

The Wizard laughed. "No, no. I apologize. It's just... You look like someone I used to know."

Despite the present company, Elphaba snorted. "I'm sorry, you Ozness, but I'm sure there can't be that many green people walking around Oz." Galinda snickered.

The Wizard stepped forward and put a hand to Elphaba's cheek. She backed away.

"It's not the green," the wizard said. "It's something else." He shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. She died a long time ago."

Elphaba nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not like it's your fault, after all." He rubbed his hands together. "Shall we begin?"

Elphaba nodded mutely, her nerves having returned.

"Madame, the book." The Wizard called out.

"Madame Morrible?" Elphaba gasped, as their old teacher came out, brandishing a large book.

"Yes dearies, I've risen up in the world. You'll find that the Wizard is a very generous man. If you do something for him, he'll do much for you."

"What do you want me to do?" Elphaba asked.

A small Monkey in a cherry red waistcoat came up behind the Wizard.

"The is my Monkey servant, Chistery. He watches the birds so longingly each day, and I was thinking, perhaps, a levitation spell?"

Morrible held out the book, and Galinda gasped. "Is that... The Grimmerie?"

"The ancient book of ancient spells," Morrible affirmed.

"Can I touch it?" Galinda breathed.

"No." Morrible swatted her hand away, then handed the book to Elphaba. "Now, do not be discouraged if you cannot decipherate it, dearie. I myself can only read a few spells and that took years of-"

"AHVEN, TATEY, AVEN TATEY AVEN..." Elphaba began to chant, and as the words of the ancient language fell melodiously off her tongue, she felt a part of her deep inside stir. She felt alive.

And suddenly, it was over.

The Monkey, Chistery, began the run about the room, yelping in pain as two sickly large bumps appeared on his back.

"He's in pain!" Elphaba cried. "Quick, how do I reverse the spell?"

"You can't," Morrible replied.

"What?"

"You can't reverse a spell once it's been cast, dearie."

The lumps on Chistery's back suddenly burst open, and wings, rather like a bat's, sprouted from his shoulder blades, nearly knocking the Monkey off his feet.

"And," the Wizard said, "look what you've done!" He pulled a lever back, revealing an enormous cage with Monkeys all sporting wings like Chistery's.

Elphaba felt sick.

"Such wingspan," Morrible cooed, "won't they make perfect spies?"

"Spies?" Elphaba repeated incredulously.

"Um. No," the Wizard said uncertainly. "Spies is such a harsh word. How about scouts? That's what they'll be really, scouts. They'll fly around Oz and report any rebellious Animal activities to me."

Elphaba's next breath came in a hiss. "So you're the ones behind this."

"I see great things in store for you, Elphaba." The Wizard turned to Galinda. "For both of you."

Galinda smiled brightly, "Thank you your Ozness."

He took one of the blonde's hands in his own, and then reached for Elphaba's.

But the green girl pulled away, gathered the Grimmerie in her arms, and ran.

"don't worry, your Wizardship. I'll fetch her back." Galinda ran after her friend.

* * *

Jerimaine Roun had been training with the Gale Force for a solid four months. He was skilled with a gun, but could also sort to other forms of weaponry as well as verbal threats.

And yet, when the Wizard of Oz called his guards into his throne room, telling them to find and capture his new enemy, whose skin was green as sin, he was terrified.

And he was terrified as he ran after the girl and her blond friend as they fled to the attic.

He pounded on the door. "Open up in the name of his supreme Ozness!"

Jerimaine could hear voices inside, but couldn't understand what was being said. The door was blocked.

He and Kai, his loyal subordinate officer, continued to pound on the door.

It gave, and they stormed in.

The two of them took hold of the first person they saw (whose skin was not green, nor did she look exceptionally dangerous), and she struggled against their hold and begged them to let her go.

"No!" Barked a new voice. "Let her go! She has nothing to do with it. I'm the one you want. It's me! It's me...!"

And then the second woman (green? Check. Dangerous? Check.) began to fly.

Fly.

Wicked Witch. The words echoed in Jarimaine's head.

And then the Witch flew up and out the window of the attic, away toward the sun setting in the west.

And Jerimaine's heart hardened. He was no longer afraid. He was ready to kill.

**Better than the script version I had before? I hope so**


	19. Two Years

**Hullo again. Here's 19. 20/21 are Fiyeraba reunion chappies btw.**

**here you go!**

* * *

In the two years following Elphaba's visit to the Wizard, she lived in the woods along the Yellow Brick Road, though as far away from the actual road as possible.

There was a semi-formal Resistance, which she allied herself with periodically, but she also worked solo for Animal Rights.

The so-called "Wicked Witch of the West" got a lot of work done for the cause, having founded multiple refuges for the persecuted Animals, and she had nursed injured Animals back to health with a never-failing patience.

Sometimes she would find herself wishing for the company of her old friends, but she found the easiest way of dealing with emotions was to pretend not to have them.

* * *

Galinda took the title of the Wizard's first advisor, adopting the name"Glinda" over the Gillikinese "Galinda".

"Glinda the Good" was beloved by Oz; a saint sent by Lurline herself in a trying time.

She spent her days talking to the citizens of Oz, trying to cheer them up while knowing she was working against her best friend.

Some days, it was all she could do to put a fake smile on her face and try not to cry.

* * *

Fiyero, despite his age and lack of experience, was a great leader in the hunt for the Wicked Witch, and before the second year was up, he'd been promoted to Captain of the Guard.

The witch hunts took up most of the new captain's time, and several soldiers had testified that he rarely slept more than four hours a night.

Those who had known him as the scandalacious Vinkun prince stated that they hardly knew him anymore. He rarely went to parties, and when he did he was back to the Emerald Palace by a suitable hour.

Since joining the Gale Force, he'd completely abandoned his "dancing through life" philosophy.

Though he got on well with his men, many of them had been together for a number of years, and their camaraderie was not extended to their young captain on many occasions.

He didn't especially want their company. He associated with them when it was necessary, but aside from that, the only person he talked to was Lady Glinda, as well as various government officials.

But none of the glory that came with his promotion replaced the special place in his heart that he had reserved for a girl with emerald green skin.


	20. Stars and Dark Haired Witches

**Reunion! Yay! Yero and Fae forever! This is only part one, though. Next chappie gets DEEP. Or deeper, depending on your definition of deep. Yup.**

**here you go. **

* * *

It was nighttime on the outskirts of the City of Emeralds, and Captain Foyero Tiggular was looking up at the sky, wishing desperately for a woman with ethereal emerald skin.

He looked up at the beautiful Ozian sky, locating a bright star near Ursa Major. Melena's star

He looked over his shoulder, half-expecting Elphaba to be there, watching the same star. Who knew? Maybe she was, somewhere.

At Lady Glinda's request, the distraught captain was taking three days off-duty to catch up on sleep. Though, since Glinda had ordered it, he was technically still on-duty.

Fiyero took a deep breath and sighed. Somehow every train of thought led him back to Elphaba. He couldn't go a single night without thinking about her.

He hauled himself off the ground and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.

Being- theoretically- off-duty was driving him insane.

He strode purposefully toward the forest, suddenly wanting- needing- to have the trees block the city lights. At beautiful as the Emerald City was, it did get tiring to see the same scenery day after day.

He pushed aside the leafy branches stretching across the almost non-existent pathway. The minute the branches fell into place, and the twinkling lights of the City of Emeralds were a mere memory, pushed behind the young captain's fantasies of a dark-haired witch, he took a breath that let more oxygen into his body than he'd previously thought possible.

Fiyero's sharp eye caught the glimmer of moonlight on water, and he turned toward it. Holding back the newly leafy green foliage, he stepped into a small clearing that held a tiny pond.

A tall girl with long raven hair was bent over the water. Fiyero stood silent, holding his breath, as if she would vanish if he moved. As if she was a hallucination of his sleep-deprived mind.

She realized his presence, and straightened. As her hands came to rest at her sides, he caught a flash of green.

Fiyero risked a step forward, and he saw the muscles in her back tense.

"Elphaba," he whispered.

"Come one step closer and you're dead." He couldn't see her face, but he knew her eyes flashed fire.

"Elphaba."

"Elphaba?" She laughed. It was not the sweet sound he'd fallen in love with, nor was it her signature wicked witch cackle. It was hard and cold, and simply empty. "Elphaba," she mused. "I am not Elphaba any longer, I'm the Wicked Witch of the West."

That threw him. But what had he expected? To find her, and be able to go right back to where they'd left off? He couldn't expect her to be the same girl he'd known two years ago, because he wasn't the same boy. He was Captain of the Guard, and she a powerful witch. No longer boy and girl, but man and woman. They'd been forced to grow up. And now just look where it'd gotten them.

But for all that had changed, so much was still the same. She was still fiery, passionate, caring, beautiful Elphaba, and he... Well, he still loved her.

Now she turned and he could see her face. Their eyes locked, and while his leveled, hers widened and dropped.

"Fiyero," she whispered, and he saw her tense muscles relax partially.

Deciding she wouldn't kill him if he went to her, he started to close the distance between them, but immediately regretted it. She pulled the broom lying on the ground beside her into a white knuckled death grip.

She eyed him. "You're Captain of the Guard." She just stated it. Not accusing or disbelieving. Just as a fact.

He looked down and sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "I am. I just-"

"I know." She smiled bitterly. "I'm a Wicked-"

He clamped a hand over her mouth, and her eyes went wide. She jumped away from him and brought the handle of the broom up between them.

Fiyero winced. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hear you say... That."

She didn't put the broom down.

Fiyero pushed it to the side and stepped closer to her. He looked into her eyes and pushed the broom handle the rest of the way down.

The eyes were still dark, still beautiful. Still sparking with determination. but they were tired, and hardened, as well.

He felt as he had two years ago; he needed her to live. He put a gentle hand on her arm, and she flinched away, but he stayed close, and leaned closer almost subconsciously. He felt her breath catch, but she didn't pull away.

He pressed his lips gently against hers, and while she didn't kiss him back, she also didn't pull away.

Surprisingly, he moved back first, but stayed close enough that they were almost breathing the same air.

"It's raining." Elphaba whispered, as something damp hit Fiyero's head. She bent down to pick up her broom and satchel and placed the pointed black hat on top of her head.

Elphaba didn't look back at Fiyero, but he assumed she wouldn't stop him if he followed her.

She didn't.

**hmm. Next chappie more talking about some stuff. And that is all I have to say.**

**Elphaba'sGirl ;-)**


	21. There's no Place Like Home

**Yay! This chapter and the next one are some of my favorites in this story. And I hope you like them too.**

**also, a few chappies ago I did a horrible rendition of DG, and I since went back and fixed it. I changed some things and added come characters... Just read it or this chapter won't make sense.**

**heres the rest of the Fiyeraba reunion **

* * *

Elphaba led the way through the trees, often making sharp turns or ducking under overgrown brush. Fiyero was able to follow her, but just barely. He just tried to keep her pointed black hat in sight.

The black of her clothes was lost to the night, as was her usually defining emerald green skin.

Elphaba stopped so suddenly that Fiyero very literally ran into her.

"Watch it," she growled as she pulled open the door of a small cottage that was nearly invisible in the darkness.

Fiyero followed her inside, where she immediately yanked off her damp cloak and hat, placing them- along with her bag- on the plank resting on two sticks driven into the ground that was passing for a shelf.

The captain glanced around their modest surroundings. There were four walls, and a roof, but not much else. There was no furniture, aside from the makeshift shelf and a blanket on the ground that he guessed she was passing for a bed.

It wasn't much.

And yet, here she was, an enchantress straight from heaven living a few miles off the Yellow Brick Road.

Fiyero looked to her. She stood watching him, her arms crossed over her chest, jaw set. The swirling black skirts of her dress didn't cover the way the probably meant-to-be-fitted bodice of the garment was loose, and, now that he looked closely, her face was drawn. While she was a far cry from frail, she definitely seemed smaller than she had before.

"What?"

Her voice snapped him back to reality, and he felt his face go warm.

"I-I'm sorry," he muttered.

"What are you staring at?"

He realized that he was still watching her, and the fire in his cheeks went up. He dropped his gaze, but then he was looking at her skirt, and he looked back at her face.

And then he realized that she'd asked him a question. Light-headed with embarrassment, he said, "You."

Elphaba blushed only slightly before turning away from him.

Fiyero stepped toward the pretty witch and smiled his signature smile. He put a gentle hand on her arm, his eyes widening when he felt how damp her dress was.

"Your dress is wet," he said.

She snorted. "Really? I hadn't noticed." By the way she stepped back, she had noticed how close he was to her.

"You'll catch pneumonia or something," he warned. "I'll leave while you change."

"Yes, because living on the run has totally given me the time to complete my wardrobe."

It was then that the sheer bareness of the room got to him. She had no other clothes, no blankets aside form the threadbare one on the ground, (whatever did she do in the winter?), and, he saw with a pang, no food. She didn't hunt, he knew, because it was too uncertain weather the animals in a forest were animals or Animals.

"I'm sorry," he said again, feeling guilty. For, for all his convincing himself that he was only Captain of the Guard to find her, they were still his men, his responsibility, and they'd driven her to this.

Elphaba smirked. "Sorry? Sorry for what? For being the leader of a ring of people who want me dead? For seeking me out when you know I don't want to be found? For betraying my trust back at Shiz? For-"

"For everything!" He spoke too loudly, and she jumped back. He lowered his voice and continued. "Everything I've everyone to you, I'm sorry. Please, can you forgive me? I'm going to make it up to you, I promise."

She seemed to consider for a moment, but the full moon cast shadows on her face, making it even more difficult to read than usual.

"You want to make it up to me," she said slowly.

"Yes. Yes. I'll do anything."

Then she was quiet a minute, before taking a step toward him. And another. Another. Until they were so close that her (granted; generous) skirts fell over his feet.

Ten she did the last thing he expected her to. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, like she was never going to let go.

Fiyero put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She let out a tiny hiss of pain, but he gently stroked her hair.

Then Elphaba pulled away, bushing furiously. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have done that." She backed up until she was pressed flat against a wall and breathing hard.

The captain's gaze fell on a spreading stain of crimson on her dress. "Oz, Elphaba." He stepped forward and put a hand on the bloody fabric. She flinched away, but he held her there. When he pulled his hand away, the blood on it was a stark contrast to his pale skin.

He looked her in the eye. "What happened to you?"

She gritted her teeth. "You need to tell your men that when they're asked to being someone in alive, guns are not necessary."

His men. He'd done this. He was responsible.

But there wasn't time for him to feel guilty.

"Come on, I'm taking you to see a doctor."

Elphaba laughed bitterly. "Yeah. Like there's any doctor who'd help me. Wicked Witch, remember?"

That was true. The only doctors he knew of were the ones in the City, and they were out of the question for obvious reasons.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice when Elphaba walked over and started fishing in her bag. She withdrew a small bottle of white salve and a roll of hospital-style bandages. She began to treat her wound, but he took the salve from her.

"Let me," he said gently.

She pulled away and snatched the salve back, glaring at him. Suddenly, she was the same Elphaba who'd smacked him on the head with her book on his first day at Shiz.

It was then that the sheer absurdity of the situation struck him. The captain of the Gale Force and the Wicked Witch of the West, taking shelter from the now-pouring rain in a small cottage. And that wasn't even considering the fact that he'd kissed her, or the fact that she'd hugged him, and least of all the fact that he was now offering to treat a wound in her side that his own men had put there.

But this time, Elphaba had administered first aide, and was now putting the salve and bandages back in her bag.

Fiyero shook his head. "You can't just bandage a bullet wound. It's bled too much."

She looked up sharply. "Yes, well, it's the best I can do, so we'll just have to deal with it." She shrugged. "Besides, I've dealt with worse before."

He could see the blood already seeping through the bandages.

"But still-"

"Look can we just skip it? It's not like this is a new wound, either, I've had it for a while. Just reopened it."

"But you really should see a doctor. You've lost a lot of blood."

"It's not that bad, I'm a big girl Fiyero. If I were alone, I might try a healing spell, but even then-"

"Do it," Fiyero ordered.

"Not with you here."

"Why not?"

Elphaba bit her lip. "Fiyero, it's dangerous. I-"

"You seemed to have no trouble doing that levitation spell with Glinda in the room."

She flinched. Bringing up Glinda was definitely the wrong move. She set her jaw. "Fine. I'll do it, but don't hold me responsible if you lose a limb. Or a head."

She crossed the room and pulled the Grimmerie from her bag. She flipped through it and began to chant.

It was nothing like it had been at Shiz. While then she'd been powerful, now she was... Beyond powerful. He wasn't even sure there was a word for it. It was like she was gathering all the magic in Oz right into herself, green sparks flew from her hands as she waved the over the book, sizzling as they hit the dirt floor.

When she finished the spell, her hands gave off one last explosive burst before going dark. Elphaba sighed softly, and Fiyero was relieved to see that the wound had stopped bleeding.

She was quiet a moment, then looked at Fiyero, eyes wide. "Did you feel that?"

"I didn't feel anything." He was silent, all senses alert.

Her nostrils flared as she stared at the ceiling. "I could have sworn... Never mind." She smiled ruefully. "Perhaps I'm going insane."

"I'm sure it was just the rain."

Elphaba chewed her lip uncertainly. She stood and paced the room. Th only other sound was the persistent wind slamming into the wood walls so hard that Fiyero was sure the flimsy shelter would fall down at any moment.

Elphaba gritted her teeth and let out a small hiss. "Oz's blood and bones," she growled.

"Elphaba? Is something wrong?" Fiyero asked.

She cackled maniacally. "No, no, Fiyero. Everything's just fine. That is why I am currently pacing the room and hearing things. That is why all Oz considers me a Wicked Witch!"

Fiyero winced.

"Are you coming or not?" Elphaba demanded as she stormed toward the door and gathered her few belongings as she stepped outside. Fiyero followed her out the door, quickening his pace to match her long stride.

"Fiyero," she snapped, and he shivered with pleasure at hearing her say his name. "How long would it take your men to get here. If they knew where they were going?"

The young captain considered for a moment before answering. "On foot, I'd say and hour and a half, on horseback I'd give you forty five minutes. But then it'd depend on what they were doing-"

"An arrest?"

Fiyero blanched at that. "Yeah. I'd give you 45 minutes at most."

Elphaba nodded and continued toward the edge of the clearing, pulling Fiyero down into the brush.

* * *

Jerimaine had known Madame Morrible since she took the office of Press Secretary, and he had full confidence in her magical abilities. So, he believed her when she told him that she'd found the Witch through a spell.

She was quite the considerate woman, he thought. She told him the correct coordinates, and he'd headed out immediately with three other officers.

The small clearing in the woods a few minkes off the Yellow Brick Road, wasn't really where he'd pictured the Witch residing, but he trusted Morrible's competence and knocked smartly of the door of the small hut there. When no one answered, he stepped inside and shook his head to rid it of excess rain water.

It really wasn't anywhere near what he'd thought it would be. There was the glaring absence off black cauldrons and cackling witches, for one, as well as the blood stains on the ground.

Jarimaine smiled tightly. So they had wounded her. Good.

But she wasn't there.

The four of them exchanged a look and carried out the remainder of their orders. Unfortunately, there was no Wicked Witch to bring back, but they lit the hut afire, then mounted their horses again and rode back to the Emerald City through the rain.

* * *

Fiyero stared at the burning pile of wood.

"How long?" He choked out.

"What?" Elphaba turned to him.

"How long was that your... Home."

She looked down. "I- only three months."

"And before that?"

She shrugged. "I didn't really live anywhere."

"Oz, Fae," he murmured, wrapping her in a hug.

Se smiled faintly. "What did you call me?"

He blushed. "Uh, Fae. I'll stop if you-"

"No. I like it," she whispered.

There was a loud crack as some of the wood shelter fell, and Fiyero was struck by a horrible thought.

"That feeling you had... It was the only thing that saved us," he told her. "If not for that you'd be-"

"My feelings as you call them are the only things that kept me alive this long. I'd have died long ago if not for them."

Fiyero cringed. He should have been there to protect her.

"Yero," she said quietly.

"Yes?"

"You should go."

He held her tighter. "Nothing in this world or the next could make me leave you again."

"Do it for me," she stared pleadingly into his eyes.

"I'll never leave you," he swore, staring back.

"You never will. Because I'll have you right here." She placed a hand lightly over her heart. She leaned back against his chest. "Go back to the Emerald City. I'm sure Glinda needs you."

He'd be missed. His leave was up tomorrow. But he couldn't leave her.

She felt his uncertainty. "It's better this way. You're not read hot be dodging bullets fired by your own men."

Fiyero planted a kiss on her head. She smelled like violets, honeysuckle, smoke, and something, uniquely Elphaba.

"If I go, I'll never see you again," he whispered.

"Perhaps that is for the best."

His head shot up, and he didn't even try to conceal the hurt in his eyes. "What do you mean?" He asked in a pained voice.

Elphaba winced. "I'll only bring you misery, can't you see that?"

"Fine. If that's how you feel, I'll go." He sighed. "On two conditions."

She eyed him warily. "What?"

"First. You meet me by the pond in the clearing where I found you on Tuesday. I don't think I could live with myself knowing I'd never see you again."

"I'll try. But I can't promise anything." She cocked her head. "And your second condition?"

"Is that some way, somehow, when this is all over, will you marry me?"

"Fiyero." She gaped at him. "Fiyero, no. Don't do this. Don't make me promise you something that can't happen."

He took both her hands in his. "And why can't it?"

"Because- because I'm me. And sooner or later you're going to realize that you made a mistake. Because I'm going to keep fighting. Because this most most likely end with me dead. Because I. Am. A. Wicked Witch." She tried to keep it together as she spoke, but by the end she was sobbing with her hands over her eyes.

Fiyero rubbed circles into her back with his hand. "I'm not making a mistake. I knew from the moment I met you that I was in love. We're soul mates. Meant to be. And I won't let you die, because I can't live without you." He shook his head. "I feel something when I'm with you, Fae. And I only hope you can feel it too." He knelt in front of her. "So. Marry me?"

Elphaba took a deep breath. "Fiyero," she began, slowly, "I don't think you know what you're asking."

"But I do."

"I think you've created an image in your mind. Of the perfect me. Or, as perfect as I could ever be. I think you've somehow left out my faults. My stubbornness. My uncanny ability to bore you half to death. My... Green." She bit her lip. "I think that's the Elphaba you're asking to marry you. Not me."

Fiyero was horrified. "But your leaving out all the good things about you. Everyone has faults, Fae. But you... You're funny, smart, beautiful, fearless-"

"Do you have any idea how afraid I was?" Elphaba blurted out. "How afraid I was, knowing that I could die any day? How worried I was that I'd let the Animals down?" She tried to breathe normally. "But, Fiyero, do you know what I was most afraid of?"

He gently put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What?"

"I was so scared that I'd lose you and Glin. The thought of losing you was... Terrifying. And that first year was the worst one of my life." She blinked back tears.

"And then... What made it better?" Fiyero asked breathlessly.

"When- when I admitted to myself that I'd already lost you," she told him quietly.

"Oz, Fae. You- you couldn't think..."

Elphaba refused to meet his gaze. "I was alone, Fiyero, and I guess I figured that I was only setting myself up to be disappointed by believing you still cared. I hadn't told I'd forgiven you yet, but I had." Tears slipped down her cheeks. "Because you'd eventually realize-"

"Will you stop this?" He moved his hands to her waist and drew her farther into his embrace. "I love you."

Fiyero felt her tense and it his lip.

"Give me until Tuesday," he heard her say.

"Until Tuesday." He pulled her closer and tried to ignore how scarily insubstantial she felt there.

**did you have any favorite lines from this chapter? ?**


	22. Over Tea and Scones

**Hi again! Here's 22. I really like this one: Glinda and Fiyero (not as a couple, I promise)**

**again guys, please tell me if you have favorite lines, cuz I love to hear what other people's favorite parts are. I mean, I know mine, but I like more opinions. **

**Also, next chappie there's some fluff, and then some not-so-fluffy stuffy. And then it gets DARK. Yup. **

* * *

The next two days passed agonizingly slowly for Fiyero. He tried to sink back into his role as captain, but every time he saw Jarimaine or Kai or any of the others, it conjured images of Elphaba, and he got to thinking of her.

It was on Monday that he went to see Glinda. All of Oz knew that their beloved Glinda the Good and the dashing Captain of e Guard were great friends from school, and most considered them a couple, though both tried to convince the population otherwise.

The truth was that they spent more time together than was considered normal. This was because they could talk to each other. About Elphaba.

It was horrendible living in a world where they we forced to label her a wicked witch, and it was good to have each other to talk to.

Now Fiyero sat across from Glinda in her sitting room, a warm cup of coffee in his hand.

"So was I right?" Glinda asked him, taking a small sip of her flagrant peppermint tea. "Do you feel better after a few days of rest?"

He shook his head sadly. "No. I think it's worse, actually." He leaned forward. "I saw her, Glin."

Glinda gagged on a bite of scone. "What? Where? How...?" She shook her head. "Wait, are we talking from a distance, or..."

"I talked to her."

Glinda looked so pale he thought she'd need a doctor. He put a hand on her arm. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "What did you...? Is _she_- is _she_ alright?"

Fiyero swallowed hard. "No." He sighed, remembering everything she'd told him and everything he'd seen. "No. The last two years have been really hard on her, Glin."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's been living in a tiny hut off the Yellow Brick Road, in the forest. I saw her. She didn't look like she'd eaten or slept recently. She-" he blinked back tears. "She was wounded. Shot. In the side."

Glinda was crying too, now. "Was it... Bad?"

Fiyero nodded gravely. "There was a lot of blood. I- they're my men, Glinda. It's my fault."

"It's not," Glinda snapped. "It's no ones fault but their own." Then she softened. "But, is she okay now?"

"Yes. She cast a healing spell."

The blond witch sank into her chair. "Thank Oz."

"But my- my men." He stopped and pulled himself together before continuing. He went on to explain what had happened, and Glinda- who was still, no matter how she acted, very sensitive- cried and clung to Fiyero as if her life depended on it.

"What did you do then?" She asked finally.

"We talked. I asked her how long it'd been her home."

"And?"

"Three months."

"Before that?"

"Nowhere."

"Oh Elphie." Glinda shook her head in disbelief. "I can't imagine. It must've been awful. She must have been terrified."

Fiyero nodded vaguely. "It was. She was. Do you know what she said she was most scared of?"

"What?" Glinda asked quietly.

"Losing us. You and me."

Glinda gasped. "I don't think I could've lived like that, without you and Elphie. Thinking I could lose you..."

"She couldn't either."

"What do you mean?"

Fiyero looked sadly at the ground. "She couldn't handle the thought of losing us, so she just told herself... That she already had."

Glinda's bright cerulean blue eyes glistened with tears. "No. No. We care about her. We do. She's... She's Elphie. We care... I thought she knew."

"I know, Glinny. But she's not the same Elphaba we knew before. Glin, she's changed. She understands more. She's still wonderful, amazing her, but she's changed. We've changed too." Fiyero chose his words carefully, knowing full well that saying the wrong thing would send Glinda over the edge.

"Not all that much," the blonde whispered.

"Yes. All that much. Look at you; Glinda the Good and beloved by Oz at 21. And me, Fiyero Tiggular, Captain of the Guard at 22." He paused. "Look at her; 21 and a wanted criminal. Called a wicked witch."

"She's all alone, Fiyero," Glinda whispered. "We should have been there for her."

"We should have," Fiyero agreed, "but we weren't, and we can't change that now.

Glinda choked on a sob. "When she asked me to come with her, I was so scared. I should have said yes, but I was too big-headed and pathetic to see anything but what I'd gain from working with the Wizard."

"Well you were younger then. Naïve. You felt you were doing the right thing."

"No." Glinda shook her head. "I knew she was right. But I wasn't strong enough to admit it."

"Well then you should have stood by her. But you didn't, and you can't change it. What you can do is stand with her now. Because, trust me, she needs it. Even if she'd never in a million years admit it." Fiyero closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm seeing her again on Tuesday."

Glinda was surprised. "She agreed to that?"

"She said she'd try."

The Witch of the North smiled. "Then she'll be there."


	23. Tuesday

**Hi again, you guys! Here's the next chapter. I worked up to ch. 32 last night, and let me just sat that Morrible deserves to die. Yup. Wait, we knew that already. **

**Hope you like this chapter **

**again, any favorite lines are greatly appreciated**

* * *

tuesday morning came and went with the captain performing his customary duties, which seemed to be taking infinitely longer than he'd have liked.

four o'clock found him pacing the hall in agitation while trying (and failing) to avoid his men (namely Jarimaine and Kai).

Of course, as five o'clock approached, he announced that he was going out, expertly dodging questions without consenting to his apparent entourage's company.

Come 5:30 he was out of the city. By 5:45 he was past the road. He came to the clearing at approximately ten to six.

By that time, she wasn't there.

He sat by the pond, imagining her, her long raven hair spilling over her shoulders as she laughed; a light laugh, not her customary cackle (though, admittedly, she had a very nice cackle.)

He remembered what she'd said about his "perfect her" in his mind. But it wasn't his mind; she was just as wonderful in person, maybe more so.

Six o'clock and he was still alone. Six ten and she was still a no-show.

'She'll be there' Glinda's words bounced around in his head. Unless, Fiyero thought, she was hurt, or busy, or, however unlikely, dead.

He shook those thoughts away, leaning back in the damp grass.

* * *

Elphaba pulled her cloak tightly around herself as she walked through the forest. The hood was pulled low over her face, as the was too close to the Yellow Brick Road to be careless. With her long sleeves, no one would see her green skin unless they were looking.

She felt the weight of the dagger in her pocket, drawing calm from its presence. She'd found a way to reverse Morrible's tracking spell, the day after she'd discovered it, given that her powers eclipsed her former teacher's by a comfortable margin, however, during the brief period when she'd had to avoid using her magic, she'd realized that she was nearly weaponless without it. The dagger ensured that she was never without a weapon, though her magic remained her first choice; less messy.

Even now, she could feel it, a warm, golden pulse deep inside, running through her veins alongside her blood.

She neared the clearing, knowing she was late and hoping that Fiyero was still there. If he'd even come to begin with.

Elphaba shook her head to clear it before emerging from the trees.

Fiyero was there after all. She smiled. He was lying in the grass, breathing slowly in and out. Asleep.

Starting to walk toward him, her hand fell away from where it was curled protectively over the leather strap of her bag. She knelt beside Fiyero, trying to decide whether to wake him.

Elphaba's shadow fell across his face, and one eye fluttered open.

"Hey," he said groggily. "I was beginning to think I was playing second fiddle to your witchly duties."

She smirked. "I got held up on the way. Gale Force. Whatever."

"You okay?" Fiyero asked, concerned.

She snorted. "Just peachy. Look, you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. If I couldn't, I'd be dead by now."

"Then I'm glad you can."

"Sure."

His lips twisted into a wry little smile. "I guess you're capable of more than even Morrible gives you credit for."

"Believe it or not, evading your men is more complicated than I'd originally assumed, given that you were probably half-asleep while training them."

"I'll have you know that I got five hours of sleep the first night." He crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

"Yes, because that's so healthy," Elphaba mocked.

"Says you." He paused. "I was looking for you, you know."

She sobered immediately. "Yes. Yes, I know. I just-"

"Don't move!" A voice cut in, and the dark-haired witch spun around to face the speaker, a young man just younger than Fiyero, and Elphaba recognized him as one of those that Morrible had sent.

Without time to think of a spell, Elphaba's hand flew to her dagger, drawing it before she saw her opponent's gun, which wavered slightly as he trembled.

After all, she mused, it isn't every day you hold a wicked witch at gunpoint.

"Put the blade down, witch," the man growled at her.

She cackled chillingly.

"Jerimaine?" Fiyero sounded surprised.

"Captain." Jerimaine's gaze flickered to Fiyero for a second. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Fiyero looked to Elphaba, whose hood had fallen off, releasing her hair and revealing her skin. The swirling mass of hair crackled with uncontrollable magic, and her eyes glittered defiantly.

Jerimaine nodded at Fiyero then turned back to Elphaba. "Blade down or I shoot."

She cackled again. "Like you'd risk killing me when it might mean your own life or favor with your Wonderful Wizard of Oz." she spat out the wizard's title.

To his credit, Jerimaine remained unfazed by this threat. He took a few steps closer, resting the muzzle of his gun mere inches from her face. By his expression, he was well aware that she was in a position to impale him with her dagger. He cocked the hammer back, and all three of them heard the click of the gun's barrel sliding into place.

Fiyero swallowed hard. Elphaba didn't even look at Jerimaine, but her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Drop it," Jarimaine said coolly.

The knife hit the ground with a hollow thud.

"Good." Now his voice was a low purr, as if he had some delicious secret.

"I'm not a dog, Jarimaine," Elphaba snapped, and the young officer flinched.

"Of course not," Jerimaine said, a mocking grin sliding across his face. "You, my dear, are a wicked witch."

"Yes. We've established that."

Without moving the mouth of the gun from Elphaba's temple, Jerimaine picked up her knife, holding it with the blade toward her. He even went so far as to trail the tip along her arm, leaving a thin line of blood in its wake.

Elphaba didn't take her eyes from the horizon, where she was pointedly staring at nothing in particular. She seemed not to feel it when the blade pierced her emerald flesh.

"Alright," Fiyero said suddenly, "that's enough. Put the weapons away, Jerimaine."

"What?" Jerimaine stared at the captain in disbelief.

"She's innocent. I'll have none of this."

Jerimaine turned on Elphaba, slapping her- hard- across the jaw.

"What have you done to our captain, witch?" He demanded.

"You assume this is my doing?" Elphaba arched an elegant eyebrow.

"Only you, with your twisted nature, would claim yourself innocent," Jerimaine stated.

She smirked. "Well, clearly your captain here disagrees."

He once again pressed the now-stained silver blade into her arm, a bit more forcefully than before, and the blood flowed crimson down the limb. Elphaba turned her gaze coldly to Jerimaine, who almost literally shrunk back.

Fiyero chose this moment to step between Elphaba and Jerimaine, a sweaty hand on his subordinate's shoulder.

"Now, listen here, Jerimaine. I realize you've been fed lied about her for years, but she's really wonderful, if you only try to understand-"

"Lurline, you sound as though you're in love with her!"

"I am," Fiyero announced.

Jerimaine pushed his captain out of his way and glared at Elphaba, who was looking just as shocked as Jerimaine was angry.

"Fiyero?" She said tentatively.

Jerimaine quickly transferred his aim to Fiyero's head. "Admit defeat, or he's dead."

Elphaba's face paled considerably.

"You'd sacrifice your captain's life?" She asked.

"If he's turned traitor, yes."

"If I surrender, he will go free."

Jerimaine considered. "If he can prove his allegiance, maybe."

"Elphaba, don't," Fiyero barked.

Jerimaine jammed the gun into Fiyero's side. "Anything to say, Miss Witch?"

"I love him," she whispered.

Jerimaine nodded, annoyed.

"But he didn't love me."

Fiyero felt sick.

"I- it's a love spell," she lied.

Jerimaine jumped. "A love spell? On the captain?"

Elphaba nodded.

"Take it off," Jerimaine ordered.

Elphaba paled. "But, if I do, he will go free."

"If he's innocent, yes."

Elphaba looked to Fiyero. The look in his eyes said it all; he'd do anything in his power to protect her, but apparently he wouldn't go along with this.

His loss; she didn't need him to cooperate.

"I'll take it off, but I need to use the Grimmerie to do so." She prayed it wasn't common knowledge that the spells were irreversible.

Jerimaine hesitated, then nodded his consent.

Elphaba pulled the spellbook out of her bag, then knelt on the ground as she flipped through the pages to find the spell she needed.

She braced herself as she started to chant. The words felt rough on her tongue and strange coming out, but the way the magical fire inside could vent itself was bliss.

When she finished, she looked up. Fiyero was standing rigidly next to Jerimaine, his eyes wide.

"Captain? Are you well?" Jerimaine asked.

_Fine, Sergeant_, Elphaba thought.

"Fine, Sergeant," Fiyero said, looking slightly alarmed at the words dancing around his mouth.

"So, it really was a spell?" Jerimaine said incredulously.

_It was_, Elphaba thought, and the words tumbled out of Fiyero's mouth.

Jerimaine wasn't satisfied. "Kiss him," he ordered Elphaba.

"What?"

"Kiss him."

Elphaba stepped forward, apology written all over her face. She leaned in, imagining Fiyero's hand coming up as if to entangle itself in her hair. She kissed him gently, and imagined him pulling away.

Fiyero pulled away.

She imagined the hand coming toward her face.

Both heard the sound of flesh on flesh as he struck her.

Elphaba staggered backward, wanting to cry.

Fiyero stood stone still, wanting to cry.

Jerimaine strode toward Elphaba, who shuddered slightly as metal bands slid over her wrists, binding her hands behind her. He pressed the gun into the small of her back, and she felt the cold steel of the weapon mingle with Jerimaine's warm, damp breath on her neck.

Jerimaine pulled her cloak off and checked it for weapons, then did the same for her bag, stuffing the Grimmerie back inside. Elphaba winced.

"Hullo!" Called a voice. "Jerimaine!"

Elphaba looked up at the sound of the newcomer's voice. She gritted her teeth when she saw the dark green and gold jackets; Gale Force.

She couldn't help but smirk when Jerimaine let out a faint sigh of relief.

Then the men started toward them. Elphaba stared coldly at the three officers, (not including Jerimaine; he was behind her) but they didn't seem to notice.

"We've caught ourselves a wicked witch!" One of them men- Kai, Elphaba thought- announced.

Elphaba remained eerily calm, and Fiyero felt his insides twist in fury. Yet, he couldn't do anything while he was under the spell, so he watched.

**haha! Next chappie guess who's back? Frex or Glinda, who do you think? It's Glinda. Frex is in ch. 26. Yup. I'm not having him die just yet (I've always thought that his death was bit unrealistic, so I'm making it a great phenomenon in this! I already wrote one story where he drowned and co-wrote one where he burned to death: not on fanfiction, but in my old notebook. Any Frex death ideas?)**


	24. Strong

**Here's the next bit. I have nothing else to say, so... Here it is**

* * *

Glinda hadn't seen much of Fiyero- or his men- since his Tuesday visit with Elphaba and the witch's subsequent arrest. The Wizard and Morrible had opted to keep quiet about the capture for now, but Fiyero had vanished into his chambers immediately afterward and no one had heard from him since. He ignored Glinda's insistent pounding on his door, and she didn't even think he was eating anything. She was starting to get seriously worried.

Now it was Thursday morning, and she knocked lightly on the door as she had many times before.

It opened today, and Fiyero stood there, looking even worse than before. There were dark bags under his eyes and a wary, strained expression on his face. He looked how Glinda felt.

Glinda inhaled sharply and stepped toward him. "Lurline, Fiyero!"

He grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

She shook her head. "Okay, you need to sleep, clearly. And eat something. And then we'll talk about Elphaba."

Fiyero flinched. "It's my fault. I couldn't do anything. If I hadn't gotten her to come... This wouldn't have happened."

"What? Sweet Oz, Fiyero. This isn't your fault!" Glinda swallowed to keep the tears in.

"I got her arrested, Glinda. She could die. Because of me."

That pushed her over the edge. Tears shimmered in Glinda's eyes. "Die? She can't die! I won't let them kill her Fiyero, I won't", Glinda wailed.

Fiyero took a breath and wrapped his arms around her, realizing that it was time to stop brooding and feeling sorry for himself, because he had to be strong for Glinda.

"I know you won't, Glinny. I won't either," he told her. "I got her into this, so I'm going to get her out."

He had to be the strong one now.


	25. Visitors to Southstairs

**Wow guys. Your reviews are blowing me away, some are disturbing. Some are sweet. You know who you are. Well, here's the next chappie. It's meant to be as cynical and depressing as possible. **

**Again, I really love hearing favorite lines. It just- it's like you suddenly know what people are reading the way they're reading it instead of the way you're writing it, you know? **

**Just for the record, ch. 26 will be dedicated to my 100th reviewer. If, you know, I get 100 reviews before posting it. If not, it'll be ch. 27. **

**I'm actually getting to the end of this. It should be around 40 chapters, unless I come up with more stuff to have happen... I'm up to 35, so this is getting interesting.**

**Okay, umm... Thank you? For your death ideas? That sounds really wrong. But I think I know how he's gonna die now... Mwahaha **

**Also, my new goal in this is to take a character nobody likes (not Frex or Morrible, don't worry) and make you guys like them... We'll see how that plays out. **

**Anywho, here's the chapter.**

** (Wicked not mine. Grunt.)**

* * *

Elphaba sat on the damp stone floor of the prison, running her manacled hands over the gravelly ruts in between stone slabs. She'd done this to herself, essentially. No matter where it'd put her, she didn't regret it either.

Now, she'd always been one for quiet, but there's a difference between the soft, welcoming quiet of a library and a good book, and the hard, cold quiet seeping out of Southstairs' walls.

The only thing to fill the void of silence was her thoughts, spiraling around in her head. She tried not to think of Fiyero, but it was impossible. She prayed to the Unnamed God that he was safe (a rare occurrence, for her). And she thought of Glinda, and wondered if the blonde had forgotten her.

And then, when Elphaba thought she could sand it no longer, the guards would come, and they'd taunt her and nearly drove her mad. Aside from this, she suffered form a constant pain- which she'd come to recognize as hunger- and realized that she hadn't eaten in days.

And yet, she'd done it to herself, and she'd do it again.

Though she'd been threatened many times with torture, she had yet to experience it, and she supposed she should be grateful for that, at least. Really, she'd lasted longer as the wicked witch than she'd originally thought possible. She guessed she'd been lucky so far.

Elphaba sighed, and even that little noise seemed disturbingly loud in the dark silence.

A footstep fell near the cell door, and Elphaba immediately tensed, expecting the rough voice of the prison guard to break the silence.

But instead, the person spoke in a whisper. "Elphie?"

"Glin?" Elphaba stood, wincing at the racket the heavy chains made when they moved.

The figure nodded vigorously, blond curls escaping from her dark hood.

Elphaba stepped forward, only stopping when the length of chain grew taught.

"Oh Elphie," Glinda whispered, "I am so, so sorry."

"No need," Elphaba told her dismissively.

"I'm going to get you out of here."

Elphaba smirked. "Impossible."

"Fiyero-"

"Is he alright?"

"Just fine." Glinda frowned. "But it's not Fiyero I'm worried about. You look about ready to die."

"Thanks," Elphaba muttered sarcastically.

"No, really. When was the last time you ate?"

"I-"

"Slept?

"I was a little busy trying to stay alive, Glin."

Glinda sniffed daintily. "So you decided it's be easier to stay alive if you deprived yourself of rest and energy?"

"Trivial, in the scheme of things."

Glinda pouted. "Elphie! The first thing we're doing once we get you out of here is having a fancy dinner."

"My, aren't we the optimist," Elphaba scoffed.

"Elphie!"

"Oz, Glinda. Don't look at me like that." Elphaba squirmed under Glinda's pleading gaze.

Glinda tossed her hair. "You know you'd have fun!"

"Glin, in case you haven't noticed, this is a prison."

"But I'm going to get you out."

"Even so; I'm a wicked witch, remember?"

"Witch, yes. Wicked, just a little.

Elphaba snorted. "Now that's encouraging."

Glinda crossed her arms defensively. "Well. What can I say? You do fly around on a broomstick cackling."

"We can't all come and go by bubble. Besides, traveling by broom is easier."

Glinda sighed. "The bubble is just for show, Elphie. Like his Ozness's head, or Fiyero's gun. I don't think he's ever fired it."

Elphaba was suddenly quiet. "Is Fiyero really okay?"

"He- he's dealing. Better than when he got back Tuesday. It was so odd, Elphie. He just locked himself in his room after he got back. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." She looked anxiously to Elphaba, who was repeatedly clenching and unclenching her fists.

"It was a spell. I put a time limit on it. 24 hours. He- he didn't do anything dumb after it wore off, did he?"

"Like what?"

"Well, I'm sure I don't know. Stuck down here and all. But he tried to profess his love for me to his men while they were arresting me."

Glinda's eyes were wide. "He what? that's beyond brainless. No, no. He didn't do anything like that. But he did tell me that he was considering punching the Wizard in the face." Glinda giggled slightly.

Elphaba felt the cuffs on her wrists bite into her flesh as she yanked on the chain. "Tell me he wasn't serious." She winced. "Oz, these things are going to be the death of me, I swear." She shook her head. "I'm not used to confinement anymore, I guess."

"Here, let me." Glinda grimaced at the sight of the raw flesh on her friends wrists. She reached a hand through the bars and gently massaged Elphaba's wrist, but was surprised at how thin it was, even after only the brief contact.

"I was sure we'd already addressed the fact that you need to eat to live," Glinda told her sternly.

Elphaba shrugged. "And I've already tried to convince you that heels are the quickest way to break your neck. But did you listen? No."

"Elphie, really. This is ridiculous."

"So are heels. What are they? Shoes or a torture device?"

"Don't say that," Glinda said, shuddering.

"Oh, right, I forgot to take your loyalty to shoes into account." Elphaba mock- bowed. "My sincerest apologies, Miss Glinda."

"Not that," Glinda snapped. "You know what I meant."

Elphaba sighed. "I know."

The prison guard started down the hall, making his rounds. Glinda flipped her hood back up.

"Bye, Elphie. I'll try to come back, but I don't know when..."

"Bye, Glin. Tell Fiyero I- tell him I'm sorry."

* * *

"Fae?"

Elphaba groaned. She'd just been thrown back into her cell after her first brutal torture session with Jerimaine- who was seriously becoming her least favorite person ever. Next to her father. She couldn't stand him, either.

"Fae?"

She forced her eyes open. "Y- Yero?" She whispered, her voice breaking. She tried to stand up, but fell back onto the ground with a hiss.

"Fae, don't try to move. Oh, Oz, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

She made it onto her knees and came forward.

"Fae-" Fiyero started, concern clearly evident in his eyes.

"Yero, please." She reached out a hand, and he put his through the bars to hold it. Elphaba moved their clasped hands so that his was resting against her cheek. She let out a shaky breath.

Fiyero pressed himself against the bars and knelt on the ground, trying to get closer to her. Elphaba moved closer too, still relishing the feel of his hand in hers. She closed her eyes.

"Fae?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Yero."

Fiyero listened to her inconsistent, ragged breathing.

"Yero?"

"Yes?"

"Don't forget me."

He blinked. "What?"

"Fiyero, if it means anything, I was going to say yes."

They would have been engaged. "Fae, it will happen, I promise you."

She smiled sadly. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Fae, you sound like you're dying," Fiyero said, panicking. "I won't let you die, Fae. I won't."

She smile fell from her lips. "I've been dying a little bit each day for the past two years."

Fiyero swore under his breath. "Don't talk like that; we'll find a way."

"I hope so, Yero. But it doesn't look good."

"I promise we will. Just trust me."

"I trust you."

**hehe. This is going somewhere, trust me. **


	26. Memory Lane

**Okay guys. Wow. Last night I finished this story. It has 36 chapters, (not 40, as was my estimate) and I just felt that the ending was right. **

**Okay; wyominggirl7; you are my 100th reviewer! Congradulotions. This chapter is for you.**

**and thanks to everybody who reviewed; it made my day!**

**this chapter is setting up the next couple chapters. This one and the next one are pretty much the same chapter, but split in half... Oh and Frex is back. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I don't see why I has to be here. After all, blood may bind us but loyalties tie us. I hope requesting my presence here is not your way of insinuating that I am in any way assisting my daughter in her sinfully corrupt campaign against the legitimate government of Oz." Frexspar Thropp, Governor of Munchkinland, expressed his concerns in a low growl.

Oscar Diggs **(A/N yeah, I'm just calling him Oscar cuz I feel like it. And I don't think WoO ever gave his name, right?)**, or the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" smiled a tight-lipped smile.

"I assure you, Governor, that I am suggesting no such thing."

"I knew from the day she was born she was nothing but a curse."

The two other people in the room- Glinda and Fiyero- exchanged a look of pure and unadulterated loathing for the Governor.

"Your Ozness, if I may, what purpose does my being here serve?" Frex inquired.

"Simply a formality, as there are many others who are capable of assisting me, but because of your respected position and interesting... View on the subject, I would like your opinion on how to proceed." Oscar held up a hand. "And before you reply, I would like to stress the point that at this time the Witch's arrest is not common knowledge, and we must proceed with the utmost caution."

Frex nodded, considering for a moment. "I believe that the execution should take place sooner rather than later..."

Fiyero felt sick, listening to Elphaba's father suggest her execution so casually.

"... As too much witch-hunting without results could generate questions as to your competence."

Fiyero gritted his teeth, and Glinda shot him a warning look.

Oscar pulled a green bottle from his pocket and took a long drink of the liquid inside. "Interesting, Governor. Very interesting." He set the bottle down on the small table next to him, and Glinda got a good look at it.

_It was my mother's_, Elphaba's voice echoed in her head, _that's all_.

The bottles were similar enough to be one in the same.

Green liquid sloshed behind green glass.

Glinda felt her stomach churn.

"Oh my Oz," she squeaked.

"Lady Glinda, is the something the rest of us are missing?" Frex asked coolly, but Glinda didn't look at him, hypnotized as she was by the green bottle.

"I- I'm fine. I just... I need to lie down for a while."

Fiyero caught her eye in a questioning stare. She locked gazes with m for a moment, with "I'll tell you later" written all over her face. Fiyero seemed to accept that, and she left the room.

* * *

Procuring Elphaba's bag after learning of her arrest had been no easy feat, but Glinda had managed it, and it seemed to have paid off.

Glinda now drew it out of her closet, where she'd put it- was it really only a few days ago?

Elphaba's small green bottle was indeed among her things, along with a black ebony frame.

Though the bottle was her reason for coming, Glinda withdrew the frame as well, looking solemnly at the baby Elphaba's tiny smile and soft dark hair. She ran her freshly manicured hand over the frame, taking in this piece of her friend.

Her carnation-pink nail caught on something behind the frame. Startled, Glinda carefully went back over the rough spot, then, biting her lip, gently pried off the backing.

The photograph stayed, held in the glass, but a small piece of paper fluttered out.

It could hardly be considered a note, and certainly not a letter. The in was slightly smudged, but the words were legible.

_Always yours,_

_Fiyero_

Glinda smiled, then smoothed the paper and replaced the backing of the frame .

She set the picture down, next to the bottle, and was reminded again of her reason for coming. But curiosity drowned out her common sense.

Her curiosity peaked when she caught a flash of pink in the bag. As far as she knew, Elphaba avoided the color whenever possible.

Glinda pulled out the object; a pink flower hairpin.

_Yep. Pink goes good with green_, then-Galinda's pronouncement echoed in her mind.

She called back the image of Elphaba after the party at the OzDust, in her Shiz uniform with the jacket neatly put away in bathe closet, her dark hair down her back, and the large hairpin on her head as she looked into the mirror that Galinda had handed her.

Even if Elphaba hadn't seen it then, Glinda had, and she'd meant it with all her heart when she told "Miss Elphaba" that she was beautiful.

Tears rose in her cerulean blue eyes.

Even when Elphaba had been convinced she'd lost them, she hadn't forgotten them.

Glinda remembered Fiyero expressing Elphaba's protectiveness of the bag. Her bag of memories. The things that proved to her that someone had cared about her once, even if she was sure she'd lost them.

**Favorite lines? I know this chapter wasn't as... Prolific as some... But yeah. Bye.**


	27. Green Bottles and Wonderful Wizards

**Hi guys! Alrighty, let's get to it. This chapter is basically setting up the next one (and Yero and Fae are back next time, yay!) and after that there's like one more big event that happens before the end. I love the ending, btw. I came up with it at midnight a few nights ago and that's all I'm gonna say.**

**also;**

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies; to your review from a few chapters ago; umm. After you said that I did attempt the challenge again, and let's just say it took a very long time. Also, you posted the longest review in the history of everything for ch. 25 and I love hearing your favorite lines!**

**also thanks to everyone else who's been reviewing (I'd write a lot of responses, you know, but I'm almost out of battery right now... And I want to post the chappie!) But I'd like you to know that your reviews do make a difference in the world. My world. My weirdly wicked world, in which reviews actually can change the world.**

**again; favorite lines, or not, cuz this is just setting up the next EVENT. YEAH. **

* * *

"Your Ozness," Glinda said, her voice loud and crystal clear as she strode across the cavernous throne room.

The Wizard smiled tightly at her. "Miss Glinda. I trust you are feeling better this morning?"

"I am, thank you." She touched the little green bottle in the pouch at her waist, being careful not to smile back. She came to stand in front of him. Heels and all, and even given that the Wizard was not a tall man, Glinda was a good two inches shorter than him, but what she lacked in stature, she made up for in personality.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" The Wizard asked formally. Had Glinda been the impressionable girl who'd come with her best friend to meet the alleged Wonderful Wizard of Oz two years ago, his stately charms may have gotten to her head. But she'd learned much since then. She was stronger now.

"I have a theory on a matter that concerns you, and I was wondering if I might ask you a few questions."

"Fire when ready, Miss Upland.

Glinda withdrew the green bottle, and the Wizard's eyes widened in anger.

"Lady Glinda, I hope you have an explanation as to why you have custody of my personal property."

Glinda shook her head. "This doesn't belong to you. It's Elphaba's."

"Elphaba...?"

Glinda rolled her eyes inwardly. How could the Wizard not remember who Elphaba was? He'd been trying to kill her for two years now. "Thropp. Elphaba Thropp."

"Elphaba Thropp."

"Elphaba _Melena_ Thropp. Third descending of Munchkinland and Heir to the Eminent Thropp."

The Wizard nodded. "The Wicked Witch of the West, now. Frexspar's daughter."

"Presumably."

"What-?"

"Your Ozness, Elphaba is 21 years old."

"Yes."

"I've looked at the records. Elphaba's and Melena's, mainly, but also your own. It seems you were in Munchkinland, a salesman, prior to being named a Wizard."

The Wizard's face hardened. "Yes. Though that is not public knowledge."

"Correct. Do you not find it odd that that was also approximately 21 years ago?"

"What are you suggesting, Miss Upland?"

"I'm suggesting, your Ozness, that you consider _very_ carefully before proceeding with this execution." She stood to go and then added, "I'm willing to keep my suspicions under wraps for the time being, if you prefer."

The Wizard nodded. "That would be preferable." After a moment of hesitation; "I'll certainly consider what you've said."

"Good," Glinda said shortly, and left the room.

**Hehehe, what do we think will happen next? Is the Wizard good or evil? And where has Madame Morrible been all this time, hmm? These quests shall be answered in; **

**CHAPTER 28!**

**(or 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, or 36)**


	28. Broken

**Here's the next chapter! I really don't have anything else to say except "does anyone have favorite lines from this chappie?" **

**This ones kinda depressing, just so you know.**

* * *

She guessed at a week. A week in Southstairs. It seemed ages since Glinda's visit, and somehow even longer since she'd seen Fiyero.

She supposed her execution would be soon, and that fact didn't bother her. Actually, she was almost looking forward to it.

After Glinda's visit it had gotten worse. The long days and longer nights of silence were gone, replaced by endless hours of torture, and the fact that they had yet to break her held little comfort.

Outside, she might be a wicked witch, but inside she was nothing.

And if her title was all she had left, well, maybe that was for the best. Maybe if Elphaba Thropp was dead-or as good as dead- it was for the best. Maybe if the Wicked Witch of the West was all there was left... Maybe it was easier for everyone that way.

Then again, maybe a week in Southstairs had been worse than two years on the run.

She lay on the floor of the cell, her stomach to the damp ground, glad that for once the dirt and gravel weren't getting into her fresh wounds.

A silly thing to be glad for.

She almost rolled onto her back, wanting to drown her emotional pain in the physical kind. Wanting to scream.

But screaming now would let them know that they'd broken her, when she'd tried so hard to be strong.

Then again, strength was a matter of opinion. Was it stronger to play the part of the wicked witch, to remain stoic while inside she was dying? Or was it stronger to build up walls around her heart, to scream and scream and take the pain, to give them satisfaction, but to save her humanity, or what little she had left?

She groaned. She was dying, inside and out. But then, wasn't everybody?

She was different, she knew. She welcomed the thought of death. What would it be like, she wondered. Would it be slow? Quick? Would she even recognize it when it happened?

She knew none of this.

She tried to take deep breaths, to prepare herself for when they came again, for she would not let them see her break.

But when the footsteps neared her cell, they were accompanied by a gentle voice.

"The Wizard wants to see you."

"Fiyero," Elphaba whispered brokenly, but she held back the tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks; he would not see her cry.

Fiyero, torn by the knowledge that she needed him now, and the fact that she would want him to play the part of the prison warden, for the benefit of the soldiers standing behind him, stepped forward.

No, he didn't care what his men would think. He loved her.

Fiyero unlocked the door of the cell, and the men behind him stiffly placed their hands on their weapons. The cell door slid open with a painfully loud, grating squeal.

He walked to the center of the cell, and he couldn't help thinking that, despite his and Glinda's conversation, he had once again failed her when she needed him.

He knelt beside her.

"Careful, Captain," one of his men warned.

Lurline, were they still afraid of her? Of course, he was afraid too. Afraid she'd die (but she couldn't die. She was Elphaba Thropp, right?) Afraid he wouldn't be able to set her free, because Oz knew he'd tried. She'd been in Southstairs for eight days now, and despite his best efforts, this was only the second time he'd seen her.

He waved a dismissive hand. "It's fine."

Elphaba looked up at him with heavy-lidded, pain-filled eyes. "Fiyero."

"Elphaba." He started to help her up, fully aware of how heavily she was leaning on him.

"Don't let them hurt me," she whispered, and Fiyero felt his heart clench. He'd never heard her sound so hurt. So... Broken.

"I've got you," he soothed, running a hand through her hair. "You'll be fine."

"Fiyero, I love you."

"I love you, too. And I'm sorry."

**Okay. That was sad. Anyway, next chapter the Wizard is back. **


	29. Father

**Hiya, people of the Kingdom of Wicked Fanfiction. 'Tis I, Elphaba'sGirl, with another installment of Picture Frame. Your royal reviews have been very kind, and do not hesitate to send in more!**

**I do enjoy hearing your favorite lines in this humble story, and shall eternally grateful to he who provides me with this information.**

**Alas, wicked belongeth not to me. **

* * *

The Wizard, Fiyero noted gleefully, was just as nervous as he was,cut was less adept at concealing it.

Fiyero entered the throne room with two of his men behind him and one arm around Elphaba, supporting her as she walked on his left side. She tensed and straightened despite her injuries upon seeing the wizard. Fiyero moved his arm to her waist, but she brushed him off and stepped forward.

Aside from the two junior gale Force officers, Fiyero, the Wizard, and Elphaba herself, the only other person present was Glinda. If Elphaba was surprised by Madame Morrible's absence, she didn't show it. Then again, it hardly seemed probable that she could focus on much besides maintaining her silently stoic composure.

The truth was, Morrible didn't know about this meeting at all. After Glinda had voiced her accusations to the Wizard, he'd seemed to accept them as fact, but the matter had been handled privately between only the Wizard, Glinda, and Fiyero. The two officers Fiyero had elected to accompany him were merely formality, at the Wizard's request, and Fiyero dismissed them now.

He placed a hand on the small of Elphaba's back, alarmed at the warm blood seeping out of her wounds. She was trembling slightly, and every inch of visible skin was covered in a sheen of blood, or perspiration, or a mixture of the two.

Even the Wizard was shocked at her appearance. He immediately offered her a chair and motioned for her to sit.

"I'll stand," Elphaba said tightly, even as her tense muscles threatened to collapse.

Fiyero took her arm and led her to the chair. "Fae," he said.

She gritted her teeth, but complied. Then she shot the Wizard a death glare. "So, what do you want?"

The Wizard opened his mouth to speak, but Glinda silenced him with a wave of her hand.

"Elphie, I've been considering things. Facts. Rumors. Ideas. Everything."

Elphaba's eyebrow shot up. "Well, brava, Glinda. Two years in a public office has bought you the ability to consider."

Glinda, being Glinda, passed this off as Elphaba's lack of company for two years making her social skills rusty.

"I do hope that wasn't an insult, Miss Elphie." A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Elphaba's lips twisted into a wry smirk. "Of course not, your _Goodness_." Underneath the sarcasm, there was a layer of something else that Glinda couldn't quite pinpoint. Sadness? Anger? Or simply pain?

"Anyway, I did some research- yes, I _am_ capable of doing so- and I found something out."

"Oh, do tell."

Glinda bit her lip and looked to the Wizard. He folded his hands in his lap.

"Elphaba. I- well, we, that is, I mean, Glinda and I- believe that I am your father."

Elphaba jumped. Of all the things for Glinda to call an audience to discuss, this seemed the least probable. She stood, blinking away the feeling of lightheaded-ness that came when she rose.

"You're my... _What_?"

"Your fath-"

"I know, I heard you the first time." She clasped her hands behind her back and started to pace back and forth, unaware that Fiyero was standing near her protectively.

Finally, she faced the Wizard. "You tried to _kill_ me."

He cringed. "Yes, I-"

"You named me a wicked witch."

"But-"

"You tricked me into mutilating those innocent monkeys!"

"Elphaba-"

"You ruined my life- no. You _destroyed_ _me_. And yet you _dare_ to call yourself my _father_?" She was shouting now, green sparks spilling from her fingertips. "But it wasn't just _you_, was it?" She let out a witchy cackle. "No. It was you and my _other_ father!"

The Wizard's face hardened. "Now, just listen here, Elphaba-"

"_Listen_?" She spat. "_Listening_ to _you_ is what got me into this mess in the first place. You wanted a _witch_. You've got a witch. A wicked, _wicked_ witch! So now that you've got her, won't you just let her _die_?" She sank to her knees, her head in her hands. "_Please_. Please let me die. I can't live like this anymore."

Fiyero's eyes widened, and he crouched beside her. "Fae," he said, at the same time Glinda stepped forward and said, "Elphie?" The Wizard just stared at her.

"Fae," Fiyero murmured as he stroked her hair. Elphaba shuddered slightly, but leaned into the touch.

"Look," the Wizard said, "I don't really want to hurt you. When Glinda told me about... This. Well, I've always wanted a daughter, Elphaba. You know that."

"So what?" She hissed. "Now that you've got one, you name her a wicked witch? You hunt her down and try to _kill_ her?"

The Wizard sighed. "I don't want to have to _kill_ you, Elphaba."

"No, you want to torture me for all eternity," Elphaba said drily. Fiyero's arms tightened around her.

"Not for _all_ eternity," countered the Wizard, with a hint of distinctly Elphaba-like sarcasm. "But, really, I'd like to just let you go, but I can't do that now can I?"

Both Fiyero and Glinda tensed. This wasn't how they'd expected this meeting to go.

"Your Ozness-" Glinda began.

"Lady Glinda, I understand that you and Miss Thropp were friends at one time, but that time is not now. She's barely the same person she was then, if she can even be called a person at all."

Glinda's face turned red with anger, and Fiyero was reminded of a much younger _Galinda_ Upland preparing to throw a hissy fit.

"How can you _say_ that?" She demanded. "She's your _daughter_."

"_She_," he shot Elphaba a look, "is the _Wicked Witch of the West_."

Elphaba, who was still on the ground, glared back at him. If looks could kill, she'd certainly deserve her title. She stood now, and only Fiyero caught her grimace of pain.

Fiyero hoped his sudden and violent wracking of his brains- however few they may be- for an idea wasn't audible.

"You call me 'wicked', your Ozness?" The dark-haired witch growled. "You call me wicked, yet what have I done? The only crime I'm guilty of is ever believing _you_ were _wonderful_."

The Wizard looked grimly at his daughter. "If you agree to help me now, I might be able to redeem you. If not, well," he shrugged, "your execution shall proceed as planned."

She threw her head back and let out a witchy cackle. "What's it to be, your Ozness? Poison? Guns? A spell, perhaps? Burned at the stake? I suppose that _would_ be the most fitting end for a witch."

Glinda, during this, had quietly crossed the room and was now standing beside Fiyero.

"I'll be back," she murmured, and left.

**Wheres Glinda off to? I don't know. Oh, wait *smirks* yeah I do.**


	30. Arrest

**Here's the next chappie everyone. Six more after this! Wow. **

**Umm... Favorite lines? That's kind of a given now, isn't it?**

**I love your reviews, guys, thanks for your support. I also am on chapter eleven in East and West, which is the sequel to Picture Frame. Hmmm... I'm excited for that too. **

**Uh, enjoy the story. That's all I've got to say!**

* * *

Glinda walked quietly out of the throne room but broke into a full-on sprint (or, well, as much as she could sprint in heels) as soon as she was out of there.

"Jerimaine!" She called to the young officer, who just happened to be the first person she saw.

Jerimaine turned toward her. "Miss Glinda," he greeted her. "Is something wrong?"

Glinda was breathing hard. "No," she panted. "I mean, yes. I just- Jerimaine are you loyal to me?" She blurted out.

"Of course." he gave her an odd look. "The Wizard-"

"No. Disregard the Wizard. Are you loyal to _me_?"

"Yes, your goodness."

Glinda knew Jerimaine better than most of the other guards, but not enough to fully trust him. In fact, she trusted him even less than most because he'd arrested Elphie. But he'd also been the first guard she'd seen, and she needed him now.

"Jerimaine, I need you to... Arrest someone."

"What? Who?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Lady Glinda, are you in danger?"

"Um. No. But a... A friend of mine is." She thought of Elphaba, of how much pain she must me in... "Jerimaine, I don't have time to explain this right now, but you just have to trust me." She looked down at her hands. "Do you- do you trust me?"

Jerimaine nodded. "I trust you."

* * *

Glinda strode back into the throne room with Jerimaine and one other guard they'd run into on the way- Marshall? Michael? Michelle?- behind her.

She pointed a cotton-candy-pink tipped finger at the Wizard, though the two men, of course, didn't know that the old man standing before them was their Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

"Him. Arrest him," Glinda ordered.

The guards hesitated, looking from the Wizard to Elphaba, who had all but collapsed in Fiyero's arms.

"But, Miss Glinda, she-"

"Jerimaine, please. The captain seems to be capable of keeping her out of trouble for the time being. I'll explain everything to you later, I promise."

Jerimaine and the other guard- Mike? Mickey? Mo?- stepped forward and took the protesting Wizard by both arms and practically dragged him from the room. Glinda had to wonder why she hadn't done this long ago.

"Lady Glinda, I'm expecting an explanation later," Jerimaine said as he left.

Glinda nodded mutely with relief.

* * *

"Fellow Ozians!" Glinda's voice rang out through the courtyard. The Wizard had been imprisoned two hours ago, and now she owed the people of Oz- especially Jerimaine- an explanation.

The crowd was suddenly silent before going up with cheers for the nation's beloved Glinda the Good.

Glinda motioned for silence, and then she began again. "Fellow Ozians, we have been lied to."

There were surprised murmurings, and Glinda waited for them to die down.

"The truth," she said, "is that sometimes power hungry people do things for their own gain. They lie. And the people who realize it are ridiculed because _we_, the citizens of Oz, refuse to acknowledge our mistakes."

Glinda took a breath. "The truth, fellow Ozians, is that our leader, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is not wonderful, nor is he a wizard, and actually he is not of Oz, so that leaves his title just 'the'." Glinda's brow furrowed in thought.

"But call him 'the' would get very confusing. In truth- and I promise you it is the truth- he is a man named Oscar Diggs," Glinda told them. "He came to Oz from a place called 'Ohio', in the country of 'America', on the planet 'Earth.' He was brought here by winds of fate, and landed here in a contraption he calls a 'hot air balloon' near Colwen Grounds in Munchkinland. He worked as a traveling merchant for two years, and became very close with Melena Thropp, Munchkinland's governor's wife. After performing foreign- 'American'- tricks in a sideshow act, he was believed to be a Wizard, a sign from above, and was widely accepted as Oz's new leader. He proceeded to construct the Yellow Brick Road and our own City of Emeralds. But Oscar was a selfish man, and he wanted to secure his power. The way to do that, he thought, was to give Oz an enemy that he could fight against. He selected Oz's Animals as that enemy, and worked to stop them from speaking. But he was expected to preform magic. His then-associate, now- Press Secretary, Hortense Morrible, who-"

"Who is standing right here, dearie," a sickly sweet voice hissed in Glinda's ear.

The blonde swallowed. "-who was a sorceress, suggested finding a magically-adept Ozian to become his assistant for magical needs. She spoke highly of a student of hers at Shiz, a friend of mine, who was exceptionally skilled in sorcery.

"Careful, dearie," Morrible growled.

But Glinda plowed ahead. "Oscar summoned the student to the City, where she met with him, and he tricked her into doing something horrendible with her magic. When she found out that he'd been lying about his wizardry, she refused to work with him. So, she left." Glinda blinked back tears. "I was there with her, at the time. She asked me to come with her. The Wizard- Oscar- offered to make us great, like him. And so when my friend asked me to help her... She said we'd be the greatest team there'd ever been. But I was blinded by lies and false promises. I declined. I stayed here. I became 'Glinda the Good', and I should have been happy. I had all I ever wanted. But there was a cost. I had to promote lies. I had to pretend my best friend was my enemy. Meanwhile, she was everything you say I am. She was good. She worked to help Oz, and she was herself. And she was recently arrested. What she went through... _No one_ should have to endure that. I'd- I'd never been in Southstairs before, and I don't want to be ever again."

Glinda scanned the crowd. "Fellow Ozians, this may come as a shock to you, but my friend's name is Elphaba Thropp. You know her as the Witch of the West."

There was a theatrical collective gasp, and murmurs, and then a new voice filled the air.

"SILENCE!" A bolt of lightning split the dry sky in two. Glinda caught the flash of a knife's blade out of the corner of her eye. More lightning filled her peripheral vision. Morrible's eyes glinted.

Someone in the crowd screamed, and Morrible's glare intensified. "I said silence, or Miss Glinda the Good is dead."

Glinda felt the edge of the blade press into her neck.

**Dun dun dun. Was that chapter rushed? I feel like it was. tata!**


	31. Deal

**Hi guys! I really like this chapter. I feel good about it.**

**umm... I just finished East and West ch. 11; I'll begin posting that stroy once this one is finished. It's more about the logistics of magic in Oz, and I'm really excited.**

**okay; favorite lines?**

**i love your reviews, you guys are so sweet!**

**hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

When Glinda came back into the Throne Room with Jerimiane and company, Fiyero panicked. Just for a moment, he was sure that it was all over and that Jerimaine would just shoot Elphaba and be done with it.

Then when the Wizard was dragged out of the room, he thought he might die from relief.

He and Glinda then brought Elphaba up to Glinda's chambers, where they began to clean her wounds- despite her quiet protesting.

Then Glinda went to speak to the people of Oz, relaying the information that their Wonderful Wizard had been arrested, while Fiyero opted to stay with Elphaba (because she was obviously more important than Oz being up-to-date on current events. So he stayed by her side, doing anything and everything he could to help.

Soon she drifted off into a restless sleep. She tossed and turned, but every time she moved, she whimpered in pain as the bandages over her wounds were dislodged.

Then the nightmares came.

She cried out in her sleep, screaming unintelligible words and sometimes Fiyero's own name, or Glinda's, or Nessa's.

Fiyero now gently shook her awake, and her eyes snapped open, wild and terrified.

"Yero?"

He wrapped his arms around her. "You're alright, Fae. It was just a nightmare." He spoke as he would to a small child, and in reality, he was just as shaken as she was. she returned his embrace, her thin arms holding him close to her as she buried her face in his chest. Her breathing was ragged, and he could feel her heart pounding.

Then she was still, and eerily quiet.

Fiyero thought for a moment that she'd passed out, but then she drew in a sharp breath.

"Did you hear that?"

Fiyero groaned. "Is this another of your 'feelings' Fae? Because I really cannot deal with another life-or-death situation just yet."

Elphaba moved her face off his chest. "It's Morrible."

"Let me guess; she's coming to murder you yet again."

She shook her head. "Hush, Yero. I'm thinking."

"A strange practice. I've never understood it."

"Yero..." She said warningly, and then her eyes widened. "Glinda. I have to go to her." She scrambled to her feet, nearly falling over in the process.

Fiyero caught her. "What makes you think you're ready to confront Morrible when you can barely stand up?"

"Fiyero, it's Glinda. I _have_ to go." Her eyes begged him to understand.

But Fiyero firmly shook his head. "You can't, Fae. Glinda's a big girl; she can take care of herself."

"No. All I'm saying is that you are _injured_. You spent two years on the _run_. You were thrown in _Southstairs_. You were _tortured_. Can you _not_ almost _die_ for one _minute_?" Fiyero exploded.

Elphaba looked back at him with wide eyes. "Yero, I- I'm not going to die. I promise you."

"How can you promise that?"

"You'll just have to trust me," she said with a wry smile.

Fiyero stared back at her with tears in his eyes. "If you died... I don't know what I'd do. I'd die, inside."

"I don't plan on dying today."

"No. And I don't plan on letting you die." He sighed. "But I spoke I understand. Like you said. It's Glinda."

"So I can go, Dr. Tiggular?"

"Could I stop you?"

"Probably not."

* * *

Jerimaine was the first to gain control of his senses after Morrible's outburst. His gaze glued to the knife pressed against Glinda's throat, he stepped forward.

"Now, Madame," he started, "what do you wish to gain from all this madness?"

The carp-lady stuck her chin in the air. "Just what Miss Glinda here said our apparently not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz wanted; power."

"You have power, Madame."

"Not enough."

A thin line of blood bubbled under Morrible's blade, and Glinda let out a tiny squeak.

Jerimaine looked from Glinda to Morrible and back again.

"Morrible!" A new voice, slightly hoarse, snapped, and everyone turned to look where Elphaba and Fiyero had entered, Elphaba still leaning heavily on the latter for support.

There was a moment of uncertainty as the Ozians weighed what Glinda had told them regarding the green witch against what the wizard and Morrible had told them. Considering the latter was currently holding their beloved Glinda the Good hostage , they knew for almost-certain who was telling the truth.

"Well," Morrible said, smirking (the smirk did not look good on her already piscine features) "I would have thought you'd be back in your cell, my dear little Miss Witch."

"Well," Elphaba said in an imitation of Morrible, "you thought wrong. Although, Southstairs was a nice break from running. You should try it sometime."

Morrible glared at her and tightened her grip on her knife. "What do you want then, dearie?"

"Since when has it mattered what _I_ want?"

"It doesn't. I was merely being hospitable as you are visiting my city."

"_Your_ City?" Jerimaine demanded.

Morrible glanced at him, irritated. "Yes. _My_ city. Now, dearie, what were you saying?"

Elphaba straightened and stepped forward. "A fight."

"What?"

"A fight. I want a fight. Let Glinda go. I win, you leave the city. You win, you can throw me back in Southstairs or do whatever you want."

"Fae-"

"Hush Yero."

Morrible paled.

Elphaba cocked an eyebrow. "What Morrible? Are you _afraid_?"

The older woman cackled, and that was when everyone saw her for the wicked witch she was. "_Afraid_? Dearie, you look like death itself. What could I possibly have to be _afraid_ of?"

Elphaba nodded. "And yet I am still more powerful than you'll ever be."

Morrible's brow furrowed in anger.

"So? A fight? Or would you be afraid to show your face after getting beaten by a witch a third your age?" Elphaba's eyes gleamed. "If that's what you're worried about, how's this? A fight... To the death?"

Fiyero put his arms around her. "No, Fae. Do you hear yourself? You'll be killed!"

"Do you really have so little faith in me?"

"Fae, you were _tortured_!"

"Yero, I love you, but you have to let me do this. I-"

"I'll make a deal with you, dearie," Morrible's voice boomed.

Elphaba lifted her chin. "Oh?"

"Yes," the fish woman sounded more like a snake just then. "You're right you know. You are powerful. Very powerful indeed. And it would be such a shame to waste all that perfectly good magic by simply _killing_ you, wouldn't it?"

The dark-haired witch crossed her arms. "What are you suggesting, Morrible?"

"Your miss Glinda will go free, and she will be permitted to return to her family in Gillikin. You will stay here and work more complicated spells for me."

"Work with you?"

"Not _with_, dearie. _For_. You will work _for_ me." Morrible's teeth hung over her lips like fangs.

Elphaba swallowed. "And the rest of Oz?"

Morrible waved a hand. "I don't think I'll kill anyone just yet, unless they choose to defy me."

"Elphie, no! You can't-"

"Quiet blondie," Morrible snapped, interrupting Glinda.

Elphaba looked from her friends to Morrible. "And Fiyero? He will maintain his position as captain of the guard?"

"Oh dearie, I'll have no need of trivial things such as a _mortal_ army. Not when I have both your magic and mine." The fangs may as well have been dripping with blood. "Your Fiyero might stay here through. For... Other purposes."

"No," Elphaba said quickly. "He will go back to the Vinkus, and assume his duties there as crowned prince, and you. Will. Not. Touch. Him."

Morrible pursed her lips. "Fine then. Have it your way. Now what do you say? Do you accept the deal, or shall I kill her?" She pressed the blade into Glinda's flesh.

"Elphie..."

"Fae..."

Elphaba stared Morrible in the eye. "I accept."

**Dun dun dun.**


	32. Not Alone

**Ooh, things are heating up. I'll just get to the chapter. Thanks for the reviews you guys! You're so sweet.**

* * *

"Fae, you can't accept that!" Fiyero burst out. "You can't help her." Morrible turned to glare at him.

Elphaba sighed. "I know it. I'd sooner die. But Glinda... I'm not letting her die, Fiyero. She saved my life by getting the Wizard to see me; I would have died in Southstairs soon. This is the only thing I can do."

Morrible pulled the knife from Glinda's neck. "Well, dearie, our little Miss Elphaba saved you. Off to Gillikin, little princess."

"I won't go back," Glinda spat. "I'll stay here and fight you. You can't win this time Morrible. You're in over your head. No one in Oz supports you now.

Morrible snorted. "I don't need the support of mere mortals. I have magic. " her eyes gleamed. "And I have _her_."

Glinda was alarmed by the sheer amount of anger building up in her chest. "She won't help you Morrible. She survived on the run for two years with all _Oz_ against her; do you really think she's broken now?"

"Glinny." Elphaba lay a weak hand on Glinda's shoulder. "Go back to Gillikin. I won't let you die."

"I won't. I'll stay here. You can't stop me." This last part was directed at Morrible.

"I wasn't planning on it dearie," Morrible said, amused.

Elphaba shot her former teacher a murderous glare. "Don't you hurt her. If you so much as _look_ at her, again, I'll kill you."

Morrible shot a look at Fiyero, who was standing behind Elphaba. That was it. Something inside her snapped.

Green sparks danced around Elphaba's fingertips. "Don't. Touch. Him."

"Why dearie, there's no need to be upset. I'm sure he'd be just as handsome without a head." Morrible looked to the knife in her hand, still stained with Glinda's blood.

Elphaba let out a low growl. "That wasn't part of the deal, Morrible. You can't kill him."

"Oh, can't I?" Morrible flicked her worst and sent Fiyero flying into the sky.

"Fiyero!" Elphaba shrieked, then turned on Morrible, murder in her gaze.

Morrible grinned wickedly. "Well, this is what you wanted, isn't it dearie? A _fight_?"

Elphaba gritted her teeth and gathered her powers, throwing a glance around the balcony where they were standing. Nothing she could use. She muttered the long-memorized spell under her breath, hoping it wouldn't go wrong as it had with the Monkeys. She chose her shoes as the object of her spell and was soon hovering in the air.

"Oh, if that's how you want to play," Morrible sneered as she joined Elphaba in the air.

The younger witch launched a magical burst of energy at her enemy, who responded with a gale of wind that nearly blew Elphaba out of the sky.

Elphaba used fire; Morrible water.

Attack, counter. Attack, counter.

Elphaba gathered all her power into herself and then let it loose. Morrible fell out of the sky.

"Nobody," Elphaba hissed, "threatens Fiyero."

But Morrible jumped back up, her towering mountain of a wig battered and disheveled.

Now Elphaba was breathing hard, her rush of adrenaline spent. The wounds on her back had also begun to bleed again, and her vision grew spotty.

Morrible flung magical attack after magical attack at her, and she staggered trying to ward them off. She sunk lower in the sky.

Morrible cackled. "Finished so soon, dearie? I had thought you better than this. So, what had we decided? A fight... To the _death_?" A new, long, wicked-looking knife appeared in her hand- er, fore-fin. "It really is a shame; you could be so useful."

"Fae!" Fiyero, who'd been forgotten as the witches began to fight, ran toward Elphaba, his eyes wild.

The dark-haired witch fought to maintain consciousness as Morrible loomed over her. She bit her lip and stumbled backward before falling.

"Scream, dearie," Morrible hissed, raising her knife.

Elphaba tensed, but held her tongue.

"Fae!"

Morrible held up a hand, and Fiyero froze stock-still, as did Glinda, Jerimaine, and the others on the balcony.

Elphaba's eyes flashed, and she stood again, back straight, and looked Morrible defiantly in the eye.

"You won't win, Morrible. You can kill me if you want, but no one will ever accept you as their leader. You've messed up your chance, and this time you haven't got a Wizard to blame everything on. You're alone in this Morrible. You'd do well to remember that."

Morrible smirked. "Did you think I'd be so foolish as to go into this alone? I have the allegiance of the entire Eastern Province."

"Munchkinland? But-" she fell silent as Frex emerged from the Emerald Palace.

**Ooh. Nobody thought Frex was gonna be gone forever, right? Good. **

**favorite lines? Hehe.**

**btw; I'm posting one chapter a day until this is over. That is all i have to say. Well, unless I decide to post more than one a day, but I'll always do at least one. **


	33. Fighting the Fish

**Okay, I think we've covered the fact that we all want Frex to die. Not this chapter, my friends. Soon, though. Very soon. And do you remember my pledge from a few chapters ago? I'm trying to make you like a character you despise. Hehe.**

**umm favorite lines from this chapter? I know mine.**

**i'll probably be posting another chapter today... Just three more! **

**Enjoy la chapter de Picture Frame. Sorry, I don't speak Spanish.**

* * *

"I'm not alone, Elphaba Thropp," Morrible growled in her ear. The fish-woman snapped her fingers, and Glinda, Fiyero and company were able to move again.

Fiyero rushed to Elphaba, sliding his arms protectively around her as she leaned against him.

Morrible turned to address the crowd. "Ozians!" She roared. "I am your new leader!" This was met with angry shouts and even a gunshot. "Silence!" There was silence, and Morrible continued. "You will acknowledge me as your leader and obey me, or risk penalty of death."

There were several murmurs of disapproval, and someone shouted out; "And if we'd rather die than live under your control?"

"That is your choice, but it will not be an easy death." She transferred her gaze to where Fiyero was holding Elphaba close to himself. "And Miss Elphaba, since she's chosen to _fight_ instead of pledging her loyalty to me, will be the example."

"Elphie!" Glinda shrieked.

"And does Miss Glinda the _Good_ wish to be next?" Morrible snapped.

"Enough, Morrible!" Jerimaine yelled.

Morrible smirked. "Well, Jerimaine, is it? I personally think that 'Morrible' is much too _goodly_ a name for a witch such as I." A jagged bolt of lightning split the cloudless sky. "Henceforth, you will all bow to me; the Wicked Witch... Of the South." Thunder joined the lightning.

Fiyero shuddered. Elphaba straightened in his arms, and a sharp gale of wind ripped through the air, sending her ebony hair streaming out behind her. The wind's icy fingers- hardly natural, Elphaba knew- wrapped around her, and she shivered.

Glinda was screaming and crying and wry close to jumping off the balcony. Jerimiane was next to her, very pale as he restrained his blond leader.

"Now, dearie," Morrible said to Elphaba. "I'll let you choose how you die."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I so love dictating my own death."

The fish looked to Fiyero. "Or perhaps we should let your handsome _prince_ decide."

Fiyero set his jaw. "I won't let you kill her, Morrible."

"That's Madame Wicked Witch, to you, Mr. My-Smile-Causes-All-Oz-to-Swoon."

Had Morrible just complimented him? It was hard to tell.

"I just realized that she's _married_," Elphaba muttered. "I pity whoever's stuck with her. Then again, she probably murdered them already."

"Unless it's Frex," Fiyero offered. "That would make her your step-fish."

Elphaba shot him a purely disgusted look. "She's threatening my _life_, and _that's_ what you come up with?"

"I'm sorry," Morrible said, "am I interrupting something?" Her expression turned confused, and if possible, it made her look more like a carp than she did already. "And did you just call me a fish?"

Fiyero couldn't help it; he snorted in laughter.

Morrible sent a blast of magic from her fingers, and it struck Fiyero in the chest.

Elphaba screamed and ran to kneel beside Fiyero. Morrible emitted a spine-chilling cackle.

"Well, Miss Elphaba? Are you going to fight me again?" The fish taunted.

Elphaba looked her stoically in the eye. "Yes. I don't want to have to kill you, Morrible. Despite what you've said in the past, I was never the Wicked Witch you said I was. But I will fight you."

Morrible smirked. "Good then. Come on, little girl. Give it your best shot."

**Ooh. no one calls Elphaba a little girl. maybe there needs to be a death penalty... Hehe. The Morrible and Elphaba confrontation sequence is not over! Hehehe. Lalalalalalala.**


	34. Fiyero's Wrath

**Chapter 34. I think this will be a very rewarding chapter. Not completely though. Next chapter is what we've all been waiting for!**

* * *

Elphaba had never been able to control her temper- or her powers. While the two years she'd spent on the run had taught her about magic, emotions were something else entirely.

Now, a decorative stone pillar went up in smoke as the Western Witch advanced.

"Well, getting a bit angry, are we, dearie?" Morrible mocked.

A second pillar joined the first. "Next time that's you, Morrible."

A flash of fear flitted across Morrible's features. She and Elphaba both knew who had the magical advantage here.

As Elphaba's anger destroyed the surrounding decorations, Morrible muttered a spell under her breath.

Elphaba felt something heavy settle over herself. Her hands still pulsed with magical energy, but it couldn't vent itself any longer.

Morrible cackled. "Well, how does it feel, dearie? To be unable to use your magic? To be so absolutely _weak_?"

Fiyero had picked himself up off the ground and now walked over to the warring witches. "That's not fair, Morrible," he whined, and in that moment he sounded unmistakably like a spoiled two year old.

"_Fair_, your highness? When have I ever been _fair_?"

"All's fair in love and war, Yero," Elphaba said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, but we've had enough war. I'm ready for the love!" Fiyero grumbled.

Morrible snorted. "Touching." She blasted Elphaba with a sharp burst of wind, sending her backward through the sky.

She landed on the ground with a sickening cracking sound.

Fiyero was done with this.

He launched himself at the fish lady, hoping that his physical advantage would eclipse her supernatural one. Unfortunately, Morrible flicked her wrist and sent him flying out of the way, but he was back on his feet and charging again in an instant.

As he moved toward the sorceress, she grew. She was suddenly nine feet tall, but somehow her eyes didn't grow and were tiny and beady and altogether... Fishy.

She picked him up off the ground, wrapping her meaty hands around his neck and squeezing.

Fiyero felt his body scream for oxygen. He looked frantically around. Elphaba was lying on the ground, unconscious. Glinda was screaming still, but it was Kai holding her back from the edge of the balcony, not Jerimaine.

And Jerimaine was...

"Captain!"

Fiyero looked over just in time to see Jerimaine toss something through the air. He caught it, for once grateful to his subordinate. The handle of the object was hard wood, and he knew instantly what it was.

He plunged the blade into Morrible's heart, and she let out an anguished cry.

As she crumpled to the ground, Fiyero was released from her hold, and he drew in multiple gulps of air.

Then he heard a gunshot and that brought him back to reality. Now the crowd (which had naturally moved away from what had essentially become a bloody battle arena) was staring at Frex, who was standing over Elphaba, one hand raised in the air and holding a gun.

**Hi... Favorite lines? I know this was a short chapter. **


	35. Thropp no Longer

**Here you go! I like this chapter, even though its short. **

* * *

Frex grinned maniacally at the assembled Ozians. Fiyero was running toward him, knife in hand, before he even realized what he was doing.

"Halt!" Frex shouted, moving his gun to point at Elphaba, who was still lying on the ground.

Fiyero stopped. Blades versus guns is a losing battle, and he wasn't willing to risk Elphaba's life.

The green girl was starting to come to now, her eyes only half open.

Frex cocked the hammer of his gun, and a sick feeling settled in Fiyero's stomach.

The Vinkun boy ran toward Elphaba and her father, knowing he'd never get there in time.

Elphaba took a breath and her leg shot up, kicking Frex's arm away from her. The bullet rocketed uselessly into the sky, and then another shot was fired, though not from Frex's gun.

The Governor of Munchkinland fell, revealing Jerimiane standing behind him, pistol in hand.

Even as Frex fell to the stone ground, he glared at Elphaba.

"I meant what I said two years ago," he wheezed. "You are a curse, Elphaba Thropp."

Elphaba stared coldly back at him. "Don't call me that. I'm not your daughter."

And Frexspar Thropp died.

Fiyero helped Elphaba to her feet, and she grimaced in pain.

"So," Fiyero said slowly, "if you're no longer Elphaba Thropp, does that make you Elphaba Diggs?"

She thought of the former Wizard of Oz, in his cell in Southstairs.

"No," she said, "I'm just Elphaba. I'm no one's daughter."

Fiyero took both her jade hands in his own and smiled gently. "Well, what about Elphaba Tiggular?"

The corners of her mouth turned up. "I'd like that, Yero."

He leaned in and planted a kiss on her emerald lips. "I would, too."

**Awwww...yeah. It's not over. **

**Kk, um, favorite lines?**

**next chapter is the epilogue... And then I can start posting East and West! Who's excited? *raises hand* YAY. **

**Oh and what do we think of Jerimaine, now that he killed Frex?**


	36. Epilogue Nessarose

**Alright everyone! Last chapter. I'm kinda sad, but I'm also excited for East and West. I really like this part; it's the set up for the next story!**

* * *

Nessa had been left behind again. Her sister had run off the the Emerald City two years ago, leaving her with their increasingly power-hungry father.

Then _he'd_ left, to assist the Wizard, leaving her behind in Munchkinland. The next Nessa had heard, her father was wrapped up in a plot with Madame Morrible to gain control of Oz, and Elphaba was no longer considered a wicked witch.

Then her engagement was announced. There was a beautiful picture of Elphaba and Fiyero in the E.C. Gozette, and Elphaba actually looked _happy_.

That made Nessa angry. _She_ was supposed to have a happily ever after, not _Elphaba_. _She_ was the tragically beautiful damsel in distress, waiting to be swept off her feet (or onto her feet) by a handsome prince, not _Elphaba_.

And yet, while her sister was off playing the part of the exotic sorceress, Nessa was stuck at home with only the servants for company. While _Elphaba_ was off preparing for her wedding, _Nessa_ assumed the daunting role of Governor.

Why did _Elphaba_ get happily ever after, when her mere existence brought pain and shame to her family? Why was _Nessa_ left alone, when _Elphaba_ was the one who'd murdered both their parents _and_ crippled Nessa herself?

The new Governor of Munchkinland was a bitter woman, and as news spread of the Vinkus's beloved Crown Princess-to-be, the Good Witch of the West, it only grew worse, as Nessa took out her anger at her sister's good fortune on the Munchkins.

Everyone knew which sister was the real wicked witch.

* * *

**Okay. Thanks for reading this; it was my first multichapter story, and I'm pretty proud of it. **

**Thanks to;**

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies**

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**Fae Tiggular**

**nia Harvey 5**

**artsoccer **

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**Caricature of a Witch**

**elphie'sglinda**

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**WYBarrelracer**

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**Guests**

**For reviewing, and to everyone who read this... And put up with me. *virtual hugs everyone... Bring it in***

**Also... Thanks to everyone who didn't immediately stop reading because in the beginning this was not in a great format and it even gave me a headache.**

**AND...**

**Thanks to Stephan Schwartz, Gregory Maguire, Winnie Holtzman, Joe Mantello, Mark Platt, Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and the entire cast of every Wicked production out there! You guys made it all happen for all of us, and I know I speak for everyone reading this (possibly everyone in the WORLD) when I say that Wicked really has made a difference in this world, and I am proud to call myself SUPER SUPER SUPER OBSESSED. **

**Be on the lookout for East and West... First chappie should be up tomorrow... If you haven't read Picture Frame, please go back and do so before reading East and West... Wait... Disregard that. *blushes* clearly you've read picture frame or you wouldn't be... Reading the last chapter of picture frame. Unless you just go around reading the last chapter of random stories... I've never done that... I guess you could... Yeah.**

**Okay, bye! Hope you liked the story! May Wicked be with you!**


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